Love Conquers All
by sess1drmgrl
Summary: Cagalli and Athrun are finally happy after the second war until the Council calls upon Athrun to return to the Plants. Everything starts falling apart afterwards. Will their love survive? Main: AxC, Other: KxL, DxM, & YxS
1. Chapter 1

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

This is my first AsuCaga story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

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Chapter One: 

Cagalli sat curled up on the bed, leaning against the headboard and looking outside the window. She was in an old and dusty cabin. She's been there hiding away from everything and everyone for a couple of days. She remembers how her father, Uzumi Nara Athha, would bring her here when she was little. This was their hideaway. Their special place. '_Oh father, how I miss you._' A tear slid down her cheek.

She lifted the bottle to her mouth, taking a swig of the Vodka she brought with her when she left the Athha Estate two nights ago. No one heard or saw her. '_I'm so sorry everyone, but I can't do this anymore._' More tears slid down her face. '_By now they are searching for me. Tomorrow morning I'll head out to the island. They won't think of looking for me there._' She pulled out a ring that was attached to her necklace. It was the one Athrun gave her. She didn't wear it, but felt it best to lay it against her heart. '_Athrun. I miss you so much. Why did you forget about me? Even if you stopped loving me, I could never stop loving you. Soon…soon I won't be so alone. I'll be with…our child._'

Almost a year has passed since he left Orb. The Council had called upon him.

_Flashback_

"_Athrun, do you really have to go?" Cagalli looked up to him, pleading, hoping, and searching for any sign that this was not true._

"_Yes, Cagalli," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to."_

"_But why? Why now?! You've been here for months, why now demand for you to return?!"_

_Shortly after the war, Meyrin, her sister, Lunamaria, and Shinn returned to the PLANTs and Athrun stayed at Orb. Once again, he took the position of Alex Dino, personal bodyguard to the Representative of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha. By day and in public, he was Alex Dino, by night and in private with only the few that were close to him, he was Athrun Zala. He hoped to rekindle whatever was lost between Cagalli and him. Only with patience and determination was he able to convince the headstrong Princess of his feelings and his intentions._

"_I don't know what it is they want to discuss with me, but I do know that they expect me to meet with them the day after tomorrow. My transport will be ready to take me back to the PLANTs tomorrow morning. I already have everything packed for my departure," he whispered towards the end, making him sound defeated._

"_Then I'll go with you!" Cagalli said with enthusiasm and Athrun could only smile. Inside, however, he knew better._

"_You can't. You have to be here where you are needed and have many responsibilities to uphold." He knew this was going to be hard for him, but even harder for her. He saw how solemn she was and could see she was holding back the tears._

_Cagalli couldn't bear the thought of him leaving again. She loved him with all her might and soul; moreover, because of that love she knew she could give him her greatest gift. The one she reserved for the one she truly and deeply loved, the one she would spend the rest of her life with. She didn't care that they weren't married. All that mattered was that they promised to be there for each other, to protect the other, and love one another. 'If all we have is tonight then I will make it unforgettable. Just the two of us. None other exists and nothing else matters.' She made her decision and was going to stick with it._

"_Athrun," she reached out to caress his cheek and locked her eyes onto his beautiful emerald eyes, "at least grant me one last request before you leave?"_

_Athrun looked into her eyes and gave her one of his smiles that he reserved only for her. "Anything my beautiful rose wishes from me," he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair._

"_Stay with me tonight."_

_Athrun's eyes widened with surprise, "Are you sure? I don't…" he was silenced by Cagalli as she pressed her finger against his lips._

"_Shhh. I am positive this is what I want. This is what I desire. My choice. Mine to give and you are who I choose to give myself to and no other," she seductively whispered as she ran her fingers through his silky midnight blue hair._

_He grabbed her and held her tight as he crushed his lips onto hers in a passionate kiss. Soon after he started to trail kisses down to her neck as they both breathed hard and went to whisper into her ear, "then I am yours tonight." He started to nibble on her ear._

_She let out a breathy mewl, "and I am yours," was her only response as they continued to embrace and kiss under the moonlight. The moon and the stars were the only witnesses to their dance, one as old as time._

_End Flashback_

Tears kept streaming down Cagalli's face and she continued to drink as she looked outside the window. She wondered how much more her body can withstand so much pain, so much heartache and so much abuse as she consumed the alcohol on a daily basis. No one knew. She hid it well from everyone, but most importantly from Kira, Lacus and Kisaka. If they found out, they would have done everything to put a stop to it. But now… now she didn't care. She knew she would only end up killing herself slowly if she continued, but then again, that was her plan, wasn't it?

The first week after Athrun's departure was hard but Athrun kept his promise to keep in touch. The Council wanted him to become a Councilman to help represent the PLANTs and to help avoid any future wars. Help maintain peace between them and the Earth Alliance as well as Orb. He, who fought in the last two wars and had formed alliances with both sides, was their best choice.

Athrun had accepted after discussing the matter with Cagalli and reassured her that nothing would change between them. Lacus believed the same as she was also a spokesperson/ambassador for the PLANTs and nothing had changed between Kira and her. Cagalli wasn't quite convinced but kept quiet to show her support. However, his phone calls and letters diminished little by little as time passed by. She understood he was busy and needed to settle in his new position, but days turned in weeks between contacts. To make things worse, he was only sending notes, no longer did she receive phone calls nor did he return hers. He would not even respond to her letters.

One day, close to two months after his departure, Cagalli was reading the newspaper to see what was happening at the PLANTs. Most importantly, what was happening with Athrun since he was mentioned quite often than not. She turns the page and there was a picture of him in his suit with a drink in one hand and Meyrin Hawke in the other. Both appeared to be quite happy. Apparently, they were at a celebration in Athrun's honor.

She felt her heart break into pieces and her life crumble apart on that day. Cagalli dropped the paper and ran to her room and locked herself in. She spend days locked in there crying, hardly sleeping, and not eating at all. Kira and Lacus were finally able to convince her to open the door and what they saw made them worry even more.

Before she would at least make an effort to eat, sleep, and to be present at meetings and appointments, now they were lucky if they were able to get her out of her room. She had fallen into a sever state of depression and they were afraid that she would end up being hospitalized. Their fear came true a month and a half later after the newspaper incident. Cagalli had not been feeling well as of late but she had not said a word. She thought it was most likely due to the lack of food and sleep. However, on this day she was found on her bed curled up into a fetal position, crying in pain and her bed sheets soaked in her own blood.

Kira and Kisaka rushed her to the hospital while Lacus was sitting in the backseat holding Cagalli. It wasn't until several hours later when she was finally placed in her own room that they found out the truth.

She was sedated and hooked up to several monitors when the doctor came in to give them the bad news. She had lost her unborn child. All three were shocked, but remained calm and composed. Cagalli will need them now more than ever. They decided to wait until she woke up to find out if they should notify Athrun. Shortly there after, Cagalli woke up and was devastated to find out she lost their unborn child. She ordered them not to say one single word to Athrun about the child or about her for that matter. Kisaka made sure no one found out the truth, that no one said a single word, and all medical documents to be sealed.

Cagalli asked to be left alone for a couple of weeks. They were all hesitant but they completely understood. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, she ventured out of her room more often but knew she was not ready to move one. Athrun was never far from her mind and wondered if she should at least let him know. He was, of course, the father of their unborn child.

For weeks she debated with herself if she should tell Athrun or not. She hadn't had any contact with him for some time, but finally decided she couldn't keep it a secret any longer. Unfortunately, during this time, she developed a bad habit. She began to drink at night when she was alone and everyone else was asleep. This was her way to help her fall asleep, especially on the nights that were the hardest for her. This was her secret to keep.

When she finally told the others that she decided to tell Athrun about the miscarriage, they were thrilled to see her more motivated. They all supported her and gave her all the help she needed to reach Athrun. Weeks passed by with no avail. They tried everything; in addition, Lacus traveled back to the PLANTs to meet with him in person, but was unsuccessful. All this time, Cagalli managed to sneak in more bottles of alcohol into her room unnoticed by all of them. She started drinking more at nights to drown out her pain. But things got worst when she finally received a letter form Athrun after being away for six and a half months. He had said in his letter to put a stop on all communications to him, he was a busy man and had no time for her at all and that it was best to sever their relationship at once.

Cagalli was in a daze, she couldn't believe what had happened. She kept asking herself why this was happening and what made him change his mind. She received her answer to all her questions a week later when she noticed the others were hiding something from her. At first, they were very hesitant to say anything, but finally broke down their resolve and decided to show her. There, in front of her, was the front page of the newspaper with another picture of Athrun and Meyrin. However, what got her attention was the bold heading "**Is There a Mrs. Athrun Zala in the Near Future?"**

Her world went black after reading that statement. After she awoke in her room alone, she started to cry her heart out, wanting to drown her sorrows, but knew she couldn't. Someone was bound to come in and check-up on her. She hated herself, hated to make everyone else worry about her, but at the same time, she both hated and loved the man that put her through the heartache and turmoil. She wanted to disappear. Needed to disappear. She needed her child.

Cagalli started to formulate a plan. No longer will she be a burden to anyone and the faster she disappeared, the faster they can return to their own lives.

It took weeks to prepare everything and to gather up what she needed. No one suspected anything nor did they ever realize that she would drink herself to sleep every night. Finally, ten and a half months after Athrun left, Cagalli was ready to disappear. It was two in the morning when she took one final look around her room. The note was on her bed and she had her knapsack with her that contained her disguise and other necessities for her trip. Not once did she look back when she left the estate for she knew she would end up changing her mind and return. But she couldn't do that, she couldn't continue living the way she was day in and day out and most importantly, she couldn't continue being a burden.

Now she finds herself alone in her family's cabin, looking outside as she continued to cry.

'_Tomorrow I will arrive at my final destination._'

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Please Review. Thank you. 


	2. Chapter 2

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

Thank you all for your reviews. I'm so pleased to know that you have enjoyed my story; your words of encouragement give me motivation to continue.

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Chapter Two: 

---Two Days Ago---

Lacus walked to Cagalli's room and knocked on the door, "Cagalli, it's me Lacus. May I come in?" She waited for a response, but received none. She knocked again and there was still no response, '_I have a bad feeling about this._'

"Cagalli?" She started opening the door quietly, "are you hungry? You haven't come down for breakfast," she called out as she walked in, hoping to find her friend in bed. Except, the only thing she found on the bed was a note that she read silently.

_Dear Kira,_

_I'm sorry to have done this to everyone, but most of all to you. I can't bear to see you all unhappy because of me, nor can I stand to be a burden. I've let all of you down and the best thing for me to do is to remove myself from your lives. I leave Orb and its people to you. I know you will be a great leader to them; better than I've been to them as of late. Please do this for me. I have left an official document for you in the safe. You know the code. I'm sorry that I will not be there for your wedding with Lacus or to help you welcome your children into this world. Promise me to be happy and enjoy your lives. Please tell everyone that I'm very sorry to leave without a proper good bye. I love you all so very much but it's time for me to be with my baby. Where I truly belong. I'll always be with you in your heart and in spirit. I love you my brother._

_Your Sister,_

_Cagalli Yula Athha_

"KIRA!"

---At the PLANTs---

"Councilman Zala, did you call for me?"

"Yes Meyrin, are the status reports ready?"

"They will be shortly sir. As soon as they are, I'll bring them in."

"Thank you Meyrin. That will be all."

"Yes sir." Meyrin walked out of the office and bumped into Dearka.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?"

"Oh, sorry sir. I was just heading over to my desk."

"That's alright. No harm no foul. Is the boss in?"

"Yes, he is."

"Cool." Dearka then walked in to see Athrun sitting at this desk rubbing his temples.

"Athrun, my man, how have you been?"

"Dearka, this is no time for your impracticalities," he warned him with a glare as he reached over to a locked drawer and punched in a code on the key pad. Once unlocked, a few documents, a blue button and a gun are revealed. Athrun reached in to press on the button and relocked the drawer.

"Whoa man, now you're starting to sound like Yzak and that's not a compliment."

"Have you had any success?"

"No," Dearka sighed, "sorry, but we are still working on it. Somehow we are being blocked and as soon as we think we are about to break through, we get hit by another block."

Athrun groaned. "Something is wrong, I can feel it. I need to get in touch with her. I know she had to of have seen the article."

"What could be wrong? Most likely, she's teed off and is just giving you a cold shoulder. But hey, you're a ladies man, you can sweet-talk her then you'll kiss and make-up," Dearka argued with a big grin on his face. One can only imagine where his mind's at.

"I wish it was that simple, but it's not her temper I'm worried about. I think there is something else going on, I just don't know what." Athrun slumped and covered his face with his hands.

"That serious, huh?"

Athrun just nodded his head and continued to rub his temples. "Has Yzak had any luck with damage control?"

"He's still working on it as far as I know."

"Then please do me a favor, find out and let me know right away. I may end up just leaving Yzak to cover for me while I go back to Orb."

"You're going?"

"I don't think I have any other choice at this time."

Dearka nodded his head in agreement, "then I'll head out to Yzak's office and get an update," he said as he walked out waving his hand without looking back, "I'll talk to you later." The door shut behind him.

Athrun sighed, '_Cagalli, I hope you're okay._'

---Back at Orb---

"Lacus! What's wrong?" Both Kira and Kisaka ran into Cagalli's room to find Lacus sobbing on the floor.

"Where's Cagalli?" Kisaka asked as he looked around the room.

Kira was holding Lacus as she continued to sob onto his chest, "Lacus, please tell us what is wrong. Do you know where Cagalli is at?" He had a bad feeling about all this, but didn't want to jump into any conclusions, yet.

Lacus said something but neither Kira nor Kisaka could understand what she said.

"Sweetheart, could you please repeat that?" Kira softly asked, trying to coax her to calm down and talk to them, but all she did was lift a letter up to Kira. "What's this?" He took it from her and started reading while he held onto his fiancée.

Lacus felt Kira stiffened and tremble, whether it was out of fear or anger, she could not tell.

"No. this can't be…why would she do this?!" Kira yelled out and Lacus continued to sob onto his chest.

"Kira, what's going on? What does it say?" Kisaka feared to hear what he suspected, but he had to know. He promised the late Lord Uzumi Nara Athha that he would protect Cagalli. And now…now he feared he had failed to do so.

"Kisaka, alert all military personnel, the police and anyone else to look out for the Representative of Orb, the Princess Cagalli Yula Athha. Close down the airports, docks, and all other public transportation." Kira ordered with such fierceness that it even made Kisaka shudder.

"Kira, please explain what is going on. Where is Cagalli?"

Kira looked up to Kisaka and several emotions can be seen in his eyes: fear, anger, sadness, and determination, to name a few.

"She…she left. She ran away and left Orb in our hands and she plans to..," Kira closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slow, hating to say the rest, but he knew he had to tell him, "…she plans to commit suicide and join her baby."

There was silence between them, Lacus was silently crying by now, until Kisaka slammed his fist to the wall that he stood next to.

"What is she thinking?!"

"That's the problem. She's not thinking rationally and she is emotionally unstable. We need to find her right away, but we must not let anyone know the true reason to her disappearance. Is that understood, Colonel?"

"Yes sir, understood sir. I'll be at Command Headquarters."

"Thank you. You're dismissed Colonel Kisaka."

Kisaka walked out to contact all necessary personnel to search for the missing Princess. Kira picked up Lacus bridal style and took her into her room. Whispering comforting words to sooth her. He laid her down on her bed and covered her up.

"Lacus, sweetheart, please listen to me? I need you to stay as calm as possible. We will find her and bring her back, but in the meantime, I need you to do something for me, okay?"

Lacus looked up and nodded.

"Good. Hold onto this letter. Don't let anyone find it. I'll come up with something, but right now, we can not let anyone find out the truth. Can you do that for me?" He softly asked in a soothing voice.

Lacus again nodded and Kira bent down to kiss her forehead.

"I'll be back soon and I'll send Myrna in to bring you some tea." He kissed her again and stood, but before he could walk away, Lacus grabbed his hand. Kira looked back.

"Kira, should we contact Athrun and let him know?"

Kira looked down to the floor, contemplating what they should do. Then he looked at Lacus, "not yet, let's see what happens for now, okay?"

Lacus lets go of his hand and nodded. She understood that this was a very delicate matter and the fewer people that knew of the truth, the better. She trusted Kira to do the right thing. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes, trying to keep herself calm.

Kira walked out of the room to first find Myrna and then meet up with Kisaka. '_Hang on Cagalli, don't do anything stupid._' He clenched and unclenched his fists. He knew that if they didn't find her soon, they will be too late. He couldn't lose the only blood relative he had, not especially after forming such a strong bond with his twin sister. '_I should have followed my instincts when they were telling me something was wrong with her. I have to find her and bring her back._'

---Present Time at the PLANTs---

Both Dearka and Yzak barged into Athrun's office and Meyrin was behind them trying to stop them.

"What is the meaning of this? Can't you see I'm in a meeting?" Athrun stood from his desk, looking not very happy.

"There's no time. This is an emergency."

"I hate to say it, but I have to agree with this idiot," Yzak huffed as he crossed his arms.

"I see." Athrun looked towards the other two men sitting in front of his desk. "Gentlemen, I apologize, but if you'll excuse us, we can continue with this matter another time," both men nodded and bowed to Athrun. "Thank you. Meyrin, please escort them out."

Meyrin nodded and did as requested. Yzak closed and locked the door behind them as Athrun proceeded to push the button just as he's done before.

"Care to explain what's going on Dearka?" Athrun sat back down on his chair while waiting for an explanation.

"I'll do even better, I'll show you and you can see for yourself." Dearka reached over and pressed a button that opens up the panel on the other side of the office to reveal a large LCD flat panel screen. He turned it on and switched over to the news report.

"…_and that Ladies and Gentlemen was the statement from Ambassador Kira Yamato...,"_ in the background everyone can see Kira walking off stage with Lacus next to him, _"…it has been three days since the Representative of Orb and our Princess, Cagalli Yula Athha, has gone missing…"_

"WHAT!"

"Hold on man, there's more, just listen." Dearka told him as he motioned with his hand to sit back down.

"…_as you heard, Ambassador Yamato, also the twin brother of the Representative, asks the citizens of Orb to help by providing any information they might have on the missing Princess. It looks like the Princess could have been kidnapped by professionals, but no ransom has been sent or possibly she's some where out there alone and injured. At this time, clearly they are not coming forth with specific information; we can only speculate and pray our Princess is returned to us safe and sound. Back to you…"_ Yzak shuts off the screen as Athrun can only sit there stunned by what he just heard.

"I guess you were right, but hey, at least you don't' have to worry about damage control anymore…OW! That hurt!"

"You idiot! This is no time for your jokes," Yzak yelled at Dearka as he's about to hit him again.

"Enough!"

Both Yzak and Dearka looked at Athrun as he is now standing leaning against his desk with his head down and clenching his fists. "Dearka, were you or were you not able to get through?"

"No. We are still being blocked and it's definitely a professional job. No one, without expertise, can out maneuver our best technicians."

"Than this could mean a professional kidnapping job in the works and if that's the case, even Yamato can't get through to us," Yzak contemplated aloud.

"Obviously, someone is trying to keep me isolated from Orb. Well not anymore. Yzak, I need you to cover for me, take my place for a while and Dearka, track down from where and whom this block is coming from. I'll be in constant contact with you guys through our communicators. Make sure you guys set it on the private channel." Athrun started picking up his briefcase and other belongings as he was getting ready to leave the office.

"What are you planning on doing Zala?"

"I'm going back to Orb and find her."

"And how exactly are you going to do that if what you say is true, whoever this person or group is, will try to keep you here." Yzak pointed out.

"I still know people from the Clyne Faction. They will help me to get to Orb. Up to now, I had left them as a last resort and now I have no choice but to contact them."

"Well then, all I can say is good luck man and go find your girl." Dearka reached out and shook hands with Athrun. Then both he and Yzak followed Athrun out of the office.

"Meyrin, I'll be stepping out for a little while."

"Sir, may I inquire where you will be? Of course, in case I need to get a hold of you?" Meyrin cautiously asked as she followed him.

"I'm just going to get some fresh air, possibly a get a bite to eat. If anything does come up, get in touch with Commander Joule. He'll be in charge while I'm out of the office. I'll call you later and for now reschedule today's appointments. Thanks Meyrin." He continued walking away without looking back and then whispered to his friends when they got on the lift, "you know what to do and I'll contact you as soon as I arrive at my destination."

Both men nodded and walked off to different directions when the lift opened as Athrun walked out of the building. His mind set at reaching Orb at whatever cost.

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I am having so much fun writing this story. You'll be happy to know that I'm already working on the next chapter. 

Hmm. Who can possibly be that is keeping Athrun away from Orb? Will Kira find his sister on time or at all? So many questions, but only time will tell what will happen next.

Thank you and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

I would like to thank you all for your reviews. I'm sorry I did not get a chance to personally thank each and one of my reviewers and just to make it up to you:

Thank you: Cagallirocks, gseedlover, the fighting princess, sunlight-fangirls-4life, Million Voices, Lac73, and Caga2007. Your reviews were wonderful and I do appreciate any suggestions. Please feel free to point out any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise.

Here's the next chapter.

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Chapter Three: 

---Back at Orb---

"Kira, do you think making that statement was a good idea?"

"For now, that was the only thing we can say without making false accusations or telling them the complete truth. Don't worry Lacus, we will find her. Hopefully, someone out there knows something or has seen her and will come forth. Then we'll have a more specific direction that will lead us to her."

Lacus leaned against Kira and he wrapped his arms around her as he placed a kiss on the crown of her head.

"I understand Kira, I'm just so worried for her," she quietly said as a tear slides down her cheek.

"I know me too. She had to of had planned this for sometime for her not to leave a single bread crumb for us to follow. Not one clue to her whereabouts has been found so far."

The limo stopped at the driveway of the Athha Estate.

"Come Lacus, let's go in. You need your rest and I need to meet with Kisaka."

Lacus nodded and let Kira lead her into the house.

"Myrna!" Kira called out as he closed the door behind them.

Myrna rushed over to the young couple, "Yes, Master Kira?"

"Please prepare some tea for Miss Lacus and make sure she rests." Kira and Lacus walked up the stairs towards Lacus' bedroom.

"Of course, right away sir." Myrna heads off to the kitchen to do as requested.

Kira and Lacus walked into the room and he had her sit on the bed. He then took off her shoes and laid her against some pillows and covered her with a blanket up to her waist.

"Be strong my butterfly. I know that it doesn't matter how many times I tell you not to worry because you still will. We all are, but we have to believe that we will find her and bring her back safe and sound." He bent down and kissed her on the lips. "Make sure you rest. You need to stay strong and healthy for Cagalli 'cause knowing you, as soon as Cagalli steps one foot into this house, you won't leave her side," he chuckled, "I'll be with Kisaka. Call me if you hear anything or if you need me, okay?"

Lacus nodded her head and looked down.

"Good. I'll be back in a little while," Kira kissed on her forehead and walked toward the door, he stopped and looked back, "I love you." Lacus looked up and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I love you too." Lacus just stares as he closed the door. She hears him walking away. Finally she closes her eyes and lets the tears out that have been threatening to be released, '_please Cagalli, be safe and come back to us._'

---Elsewhere---

The sun's rays gleamed through the window and onto the sleeping form. Amber eyes started fluttering, a sign that she was awakening. Cagalli stretched and rubbed the sleep off of her eyes.

"It looks like I overslept," she whispered out to no one.

Cagalli got up and started preparing for her departure. She washed up and dressed into the Orb military uniform that she took for her to use as a disguise. She walked to the mirror and began to put on the wig and then the officer's hat.

"Dressed like this I should be able to get through without a problem. By now they should be searching for me or at least Cagalli Yula Athha and not a fellow officer."

She walked out the cabin with two small duffle bags and takes a final look inside the cabin and whispered, "Good bye father. Please forgive me." She turned and walked toward the lake that sits nearby. From a distance, she can finally see it and there, by the dock, was the speed boat that will take her to the island.

Cagalli took off the camouflage cover from the boat and got on it. She stored away the bags and the cover next to a box and started the engine. She looked up to the sky and didn't see anything, '_so far so good. Thank god for small favors._'

Pulling out of the lake and into the ocean, she continued onto her destination. Several miles into the ocean, Cagalli heard on the radio that a pilot was flying over the area she was currently located. '_Looks like it's time to put on my acting skills once again,_' she thought as she adjusted her hat and grabbed her phone and awaited for the appearance of the helicopter that she could hear from a distance.

"Here goes nothing," she said as she slowed down and held up the phone to her ear and grabbed the binoculars as she saw the helicopter. The pilot flew around her and she puts down the binoculars and signaled to the pilot all clear and in contact with headquarters. The helicopter circled around her one last time before leaving.

Cagalli slowly lets out her breath, of which she never realized she was holding in, "that was too close for comfort. I'm glad the training finally paid off." She always insisted in having the same knowledge and training that the military officers received even if it was against Kisaka and Kira. She turned the boat around and headed towards her destination.

---Back at the Athha Estate---

_Haro….Haro_

"Hmm, what is it Mr. Pink?" Lacus sat up to see the pink Haro jumping up and down the bed.

_Haro….Haro_

_Bleep_

"Huh? I wonder what it could be," she wondered as she reached out to her laptop. She lifted up the screen and looked to see what was going on.

"Oh my. This is unexpected."

_Knock….Knock_

"Come in."

"Lady Lacus, would you like some lunch?" Myrna asked her as she enters the room.

"Oh yes please. Also Myrna, could you please make sure an extra place is set for dinner tonight."

"Of course my lady. Will we be having a guest staying tonight?"

"I'm not certain, but I'm positive Athrun's bedroom will do fine."

Myrna's eyes widened, "a…are you certain my lady?"

"Yes Myrna. That will be all, thank you."

"Yes my lady." Myrna started walking out when she stopped at the door and turned to see Lacus," Lady Lacus?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you…think Master Kira will find Princess Cagalli?" she asked as tears started to drop from her eyes.

"Of course he will. Have faith and be strong for Cagalli will return?"

"Thank you Lady Lacus, I will."

Lacus watched Myrna close the door and then looked out her window, '_I just hope he finds her in time to save her from herself._'

She got up and walked down to the dining area to have some lunch, '_I think I'll talk to him by myself first before calling Kira._' Lacus knew that Kira wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone, but at this time, it would be very easy to push him over the proverbial edge.

---At Headquarters---

"Kisaka, what's the status from the search parties?" Kira walked in to the command room.

There were monitors on one side of the room with officers stationed in front of them. There was a large map on the other side of the room that was marked by different color tags. In the middle, there was a large conference table, long enough to sit up to twelve people all around. Maps and reports covered most of the table.

"Unfortunately, nothing new has been reported. All passenger rosters are being double checked as we speak and helicopters and boats are continuously patrolling nearby. We are receiving tips and I have appointed two teams concentrating their efforts solely on that."

Kisaka gave some reports to Kira for him to read over, mostly confirming what he was just told.

"I see." Kira continued to look through the reports and then sat them down. "Cagalli could have rented or even bought some sort of transportation to move on her own instead of using public transportation. Have a team start looking into that if nothing has been found so far on all passenger lists, but continue monitoring them. She could be just waiting for us to slip up and not notice."

"Right away, sir."

"Kisaka," Kira sighed, "have we had any contact from the PLANTs?"

"No Kira. I have personally monitored any and all possible contacts and there's been nothing as of yet."

"I just don't understand. He had to of have seen the news by now. Is it possible that he truly does not care at all for my sister?"

"Kira, we may just have to accept that fact for what it is."

"I hope for his sake and Cagalli's that you are wrong," Kira looked at the monitors and sighed, "I'm going to join the search party for awhile. Contact me if you get any leads."

Kisaka agreed to do so and Kira walked out, but not before promising to return later.

---Later that Evening---

Cagalli was in the middle of the ocean, but she knew exactly where she was. She figured this was the place to dispose of the boat. One of the duffle bags and the emergency kit was placed in one raft and a medium sized box was secured on the smaller raft that was currently attached to the other. The boat was rigged to run to the opposite direction from Cagalli and to explode in one hour. She purposely left plenty of her personal belongings and splattered some of her blood around the boat from a cut she inflicted on her left arm to make it look like she was still on it. She grabbed a clean cloth and wrapped around the cut to stop the bleeding.

She quickly started the boat and jumped off of it, diving into the ocean. When she surfaced, she watched the boat run its course and started swimming to her raft. Soon she found herself on the raft and rowing towards the island. Hopefully, by believing she was killed in the explosion, they will stop searching for her. She did not want them to stop her from reaching her final resting place.

---Back at Orb---

_Ding….Dong_

Lacus sat in the sitting room drinking some tea when she heard the door bell. She stood up and walked to the door. She saw Myrna was also on her way to the door as well.

"I got it Myrna, you may return to your duties."

"Very well my lady," she bowed and left Lacus to herself.

Lacus took in and let out a deep breath to calm her nerves, she then opened the door. "Welcome back Athrun, please come in," she stepped aside to let him pass.

"Thank you Lacus. How are you?"

"I guess as well as I can be. How about yourself?"

Athrun sighed, "I guess you can say the same as you. Is Kira home?"

"No. He's at Orb Headquarters with Kisaka, but he will be here shortly for dinner. I'm certain you saw the news to somewhat understand what is going on."

"I did and I'm here to find out exactly what happened to Cagalli."

"Yes, we have much to discuss, Athrun. Please join me for some tea and we can begin while we wait for Kira."

Athrun nodded and followed Lacus to the sitting room. There they sat drinking tea and explaining what's been happening both at the PLANTs and at Orb.

A little over an hour later they both heard the door open. "Lacus, I'm home." Kira called out as he closed the door. At the moment he was giving his coat and briefcase to the butler, his back was facing the entrance to the sitting room. Lacus walked out to greet him with Athrun walking behind her. "Welcome home. How did it go today?"

Kira turned to answer when he saw Athrun, "YOU!"

* * *

I do apologize for the lateness, but from this last weekend till now I've been very busy helping to get ready for the arrival of my baby nephew. Just so you can get an idea of how crazy it's been, we went from having the baby shower this past weekend to my sister going into labor on Wednesday morning (1:00 am) to my nephew being born on 07/11/07 at 2:57 am and I just got to see him yesterday evening. He is soooo adorable. You can say we really, really cut short for the baby shower….- 

Kira does not sound very happy, then again, who can blame him. Will Kira and Athrun be against each other again or will they work together to find Cagalli? Will Cagalli make it to the island? I guess we'll just have to wait to find out.

I promise you won't wait as long as you did this last time.

Thank you and please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

I would like to thank you all for your reviews. You guys are awesome! You have no idea how much your encouraging words help me, especially when I feel like I'm stuck on the story. However, I do want to apologize for any spelling and/or grammatical errors. Since I don't have a beta to assist me, I get to do the correcting on my own. Please feel free to point out any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter Four: 

Everything was a blur. One minute Kira and Athrun were a few feet apart from each other and the next you see Kira grab Athrun by the collar and slam him onto the wall. He successfully knocked the wind out of Athrun. Once he was able to regain his breath, Athrun looked up and saw Kira and noticed he had gone into Seed Mode, '_Oh shit! This isn't good._'

"K…Kira…you…need to…listen," he did not get to finish his sentence 'cause he was punched in his gut. '_Damn that hurt. I can't fight him like this._' Athrun saw another fist come towards him and he went into Seed Mode knowing it was his only chance to keep up with the ultimate coordinator. Before the fist could collide with him, he was able to free himself from Kira ready to block and if necessary, counteract anything Kira threw at him.

"I don't want to fight you Kira!"

"Please Kira! Listen to Athrun," Lacus pleaded with him, hoping to be able to calm him down.

"Why should I? It's because of him that Cagalli left!"

"What!?" Athrun stopped. He was shocked to hear not only that Cagalli left, but that he was at fault.

Unfortunately, Kira did not stop and took the opportunity to punch Athrun in the face making him fall back from the impact.

"Athrun! Kira! That's enough. Please just listen to us, don't you trust me?" That got Kira's attention and started to calm down. He looked down at Athrun and saw he was breathing just as hard as he.

With his head bent down and his bangs covering his eyes, he finally answered, "Of course I trust you. I just…," he sighed, "I'm sorry Athrun." Kira reached down to help Athrun stand.

"Don't worry Kira, I understand."

Lacus looked at both men in front of her. "Good, now we can sit down, have some dinner and calmly discuss this matter."

All three walked to the dining room and took a seat. The servers brought out the food and soon they found themselves alone to speak in private.

"Kira, before you came home, Athrun and I had a chance to talk. It appears, with the help of Dearka and Yzak, he was able to discover an interference between our communications; successfully blocking us from receiving any messages or direct contact with each other."

"Interference?" Kira looked at Athrun for an explanation.

"We've been trying to reach you by any means and all electronic devices that we have used are blocked by something or someone. Dearka is investigating the matter and working on eliminating the blockage as we speak. From what I understand, all written communication some how were also deterred."

"What do you mean 'deterred'?! Cagalli did receive some of your letters," Kira started to get upset. He just could not believe what he was hearing, "moreover, she definitely received the last one from you, telling her you wanted nothing to do with her.!"

"What?!" I would never do such a thing like that to her. Why would I?"

"That's what we want to know, Athrun. We could not understand, for the life of us, why you would write such cold words, but shortly after receiving the letter we got our answer. We saw the article stating if there was a future Mrs. Zala!"

"Kira, Athrun. Please, we need to stay calm in order to understand what exactly is going on," Lacus pleaded with them, playing the mediator between an overly protective brother and a not only protective, but also possessive boyfriend, "not to mention, arguing with each other will not help Cagalli."

Both men had the decency to look ashamed for their actions. Athrun looked at Kira, he hoped to show his concern and determination, "and do you have the letter? I need to see if I can recognize the writing. I know I didn't write that letter, but I would like to find out who did."

"I do," Kira turned and looked at Lacus, "could you please go get the letters for me," he stopped and looked at Athrun as if trying to decide on something, but Athrun had no clue whatsoever as to what, "as well has her last letter to me."

Lacus' face paled, "Are…you sure Kira?" She was not sure if it was the right thing to do, at least for now.

"Yes. Please go. We'll be fine, I promise." Kira gave her a reassuring smile.

Lacus left to retrieve the letters while the men continued with their talk.

"Kira, I did try to get a hold of Cagalli and you. I got worried after awhile. I completely stopped receiving letters and phone calls."

"For the longest time, Cagalli kept calling and writing to you. She never gave up hope that she would get through to you," Kira looked out the window. It was dark outside. He wasn't specifically looking at something, his eyes held a distant look to them.

He started to recall the events, "she started getting depressed and we tried but no matter what we did, nothing kept her from falling deeper into her state of depression. As the weeks went by, it got worst and if it wasn't one thing that broke her heart, it was another."

"What happened, Kira? Please, I need to know what you meant by it was my fault she left," pleaded Athrun.

"Alright, I'll explain, but please let me do so without interruptions. Lacus and I will explain and answer your questions as best we can afterwards, okay?"

Athrun nodded in agreement and Lacus arrived with the letters and handed them over to Kira. "These are all the letters from you that I found in her room," he gave all of them to Athrun except for one, "you can go through them as we explain."

Kira looked over to Lacus and she held his hand in hers. She lightly squeezed it to silently let him know to go on and that she was there with him. "Cagalli was sad that you left, but she understood and supported you. Especially since you were there for her, she wanted to do the same and be there for you."

He sipped some tea, but continued afterwards, "she was okay the first couple of weeks; she continued to work and got to talk to you several times. When she hardly received any response from you by phone or mail, she started to get depressed."

"We were able to keep her busy to help keep your mind off the fact that it was weeks since she heard from you and it worked. She continued with some of the daily routines,"

"However," Lacus jumped in, "after two months from when you left, she read the article on the celebration in your honor, which included a picture of you and Ms. Hawke."

"She locked herself in her room for days, neither Lacus or Kisaka, nor I could convince her to come out, not even to eat," Kira looked down into his tea with a forlorn expression, "when she finally did open up, we were horrified by her physical condition. She had not eaten and hardly slept as well. We thought we would have to hospitalize her, but she fought with us to be left alone,"

Athrun could not believe what he was hearing. His heart constricted as if someone was squeezing it with all of his or her might and an unbearable pain grew within. He knew if it got worst, he would not be able to hold back and eventually break down crying for not only Cagalli, but for himself. Feeling frustrated and helpless at this moment by only listening about the events and could only imagine what his friends went through while they watched.

"Kisaka and Kira had to take over most of her duties while Myrna and I stayed near her. Unfortunately, our fears were realized about a month and a half later and we had no choice but to hospitalize her…," Lacus had to close her eyes and hold in the urge to let her tears fall. She still remembered everything clearly as if it had just happened yesterday.

Kira saw and understood her hesitation, so he continued for her while he held onto her hand to give her strength, "she was there for days and after she was released, she asked to be left alone for a while. We understood and gave her, her space and about two weeks later, she came out more often to join us for some of the meals, but we still continued to cover for her. She said she was not ready and we understood and did not push her. Shortly afterwards, she started trying to get a hold of you…," Kira was about to continue when Lacus jumped in.

"She asked us to help her get in touch with you. Including, I had personally traveled to the PLANTs to meet with you in person, but was unsuccessful. I was either told I had just missed you or you were in a conference and could not be disturbed,"

"This went on for a few weeks until she received your final letter her state of depression got worse. A week later we all read the article in reference to the future Mrs. Zala. We tried to hide it from her, but she was persistent and we finally showed it to her. Things changed after that."

"Kira, Kisaka and I noticed her acting very odd. We didn't understand, but we figured it was her way to cope, to try to continue with her life. We all decided to keep an eye on her. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Nothing seemed to have changed and we did not want to pressure her to tell us anything. If and when we did inquire, she would say she was fine and not to worry about her."

"It wasn't until the morning of her disappearance that we finally understood why she acted the way she did," Kira hesitated, felt unsure of how to continue, how to reveal the truth. He sighed and locked his eyes onto Athrun's, showing his resolve and the seriousness of what he needed to reveal. He pushed the letter he had kept to Athrun, "this…letter was found on her bed when Lacus went to get Cagalli for breakfast, but before you read it, let me finish."

Athrun grabbed the letter and nodded in agreement to let him continue.

"After reading the letter, I ordered Kisaka to start searching for her, to put a stop on all public transportation and to keep the truth from being known. What was most important was to find her safe and sound right away, while Kisaka and I searched her room for any clues to her whereabouts. However, we were not expecting to find a few bottles of alcohol,"

Athrun's eyes widened in disbelief, '_how could this be possible? Why would …._' He did not want to finish that thought, nevertheless, believe in what he had just heard.

Kira noticed the shocked look on Athrun, but knew he had to continue. "Apparently, she managed to sneak them in, but we have no idea how long she had been drinking or how much, least of all how many times she consumed the alcohol. All we know now is that she is unstable and capable of anything."

Lacus could not hold it any longer and started to cry knowing what her dear friend was planning on doing if she was not stopped. Kira took her into his arms to comfort her and reassure her that they will all see her again.

Of course, this did not go unnoticed by Athrun and got a bad feeling about it. He started reading the letter and could not believe what he was seeing. He could not understand what it was she was thinking. And then….he read the last part.

"What! What is the meaning of this?" He stood up from his chair so fast that it fell to the floor, "explain to me what she means by 'my baby'!"

Lacus sobbed harder onto Kira's shoulder and he started rubbing her back in a soothing motion as he tried to explain to his best friend the loss of his child, "when Cagalli was hospitalized it was not entirely because of her depression or her malnutrition…,"

"Then what was it for!" Athrun was furious, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Kira closed his eyes and dreaded to say the words that he knew needed to be said. "She had a miscarriage; she was three and a half months pregnant when she lost yours and her unborn child."

Athrun could not believe what he was hearing. '_How could this be? How could this have happened? Why would she…,_' his thought abruptly stopped there and his eyes widened, "Oh God! She thinks I abandoned her."

"But Athrun, you didn't…you didn't know…," Lacus was immediately cut off by Athrun.

He started to yell, "We know that, but she doesn't! All because someone decided to interfere, decided to get between us!"

"What do you mean Athrun?" asked Kira, not understanding what his best friend was implying.

"These letters here are mine, but these others aren't," he motioned with his hands the two different piles in front of him, "the handwriting is close, but not exactly mine and the stationary is different from mine. Whoever the bastard is that has done this to us will pay dearly. His or her life will be mine if I lose Cagalli." Athrun was enraged and anyone who looked into his eyes not only can see the bloodlust, but the promise of pain and death as well.

* * *

Well I'm certainly getting excited about this story. Athrun is out for blood, but who can blame him. Only time will reveal who is behind everything and if they find Cagalli on time. If so, will she believe him? Will they go back as they were? 

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Please take a moment and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

I would like to thank you all for your reviews. You guys are awesome! I'm sorry I did not get a chance to reply to each of you individually, but I do appreciate each an every one of you for your encouraging words. I know it took longer to update my story, but you can blame that one my boss who decided to have us work overtime. I had to work 6 days a week and I had to use my day off to catch up on everything else. Not to mention that I also had to get a new internet service. But now I'll get to work on the story a little more and hope to at least update once a week. Enjoy.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: 

---The Next Morning---

Cagalli rowed through the night. Most of her night was spent cold and wet. A couple of hours after beginning her trip on the raft, it had started to lightly rain and had continued on and off throughout the night. She had yet to dry from when she dived into the water, but she was thankful it was a light rain instead of a full blown storm. It would not do for her to die by drowning out in the sea. No. She will not allow anyone or anything from taking that from her. Her life was hers to take. Everything else was either given or taken from her without consideration to her thoughts, her feelings, her desires or needs. Her determination was set and she made her decision that at least she will be in control of her death. Cagalli Yula Athha will be the only one to decide when, where, and how she will die. Relieving her from anymore pain, heartache, and loneliness and relieving those who she loved and cared for from any undue burdens.

She was tired and she was hurting, but she continued. The cut on her arm was hurting and bleeding especially since with all the movement and force she used with her arm, it hardly had a chance to actually start healing. On top of that, she had very little energy due to the fact that within the last several days she hardly ate. Cagalli knew she was pushing it, but she was determined to reach the island no matter what. Throughout the night she stopped several times to take a small break, but she only allowed herself to stop for ten to fifteen minutes to drink some water and a few bites from her rations. She wanted and needed to get out of the waters as soon as she could for it would eliminate the possibility of being seen from any of the patrols should they get that far.

Dawn had finally arrived when Cagalli made to the shores of the island. With the last bit of energy she had, she was able to pull both rafts onto the beach. Ultimately, her legs gave out on her; her body started to feel the repercussions from depleting her energy beyond her limits. She felt herself wavering and darkness encroaching upon her. In the back of her mind, she new she would be losing consciousness until finally her body gave in and fell onto the sand.

---At the PLANTs---

In an abandoned building, two individuals walk out of the shadows.

"Why did you call me out here?"

"You were supposed to keep an eye on Athrun."

"I did keep an eye on him. I did exactly what you told me to do. I kept him from going to Orb and blocked all contact."

"Really? Then tell me where he is at this time."

"I..I'm not sure. I only know Commander Joule is in charge while he is out."

"Commander Elsman?"

"He's up to something, but I don't know what?"

"Have you been able to listen in to any of their conversations?"

"No. Something continues to interrupt with the bug that has been planted in his office?"

"Well I was just notified that Athrun is back on Orb?"

"How?"

"Obviously, he had help. What takes priority at this time is to get him back here and away from the Princess. If not, I'll have no choice but to dispose of him."

"You said…"

"I know what I said! As long as you do your job, no harm should befall on him. Not to mention that I have plans for him in the future, but if he interferes, I will have no choice but to get rid of him."

"Everything was going just as planned until it was broadcasted that she went missing. Was that your doing?"

"Unfortunately, it was not. Someone else must be after her. I have my men investigating the matter, but so far everyone is keeping a tight lid when it comes to the Princess?"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Go to Orb and find a way to get him back here. In the meantime, report anything and everything back to me, I may need to make some changes."

"It's easier said than done."

"I don't care what you do, just get it done. Unless I get the Princess, there will be no Athrun."

"I'll. Get it. Done."

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other. Good day."

Both forms went their separate ways. Each frustrated in different ways from the unforeseen events and while one was trying to rectify the mistakes, the other was contemplating how to take advantage of the situation. Although their paths and their thoughts headed on different directions, they both agreed on one single fact: they did not come this far to fail.

---Venice, Italy---

"Oooh, I cannot believe this. Why didn't Kira call me?" A young journalist and photographer muttered as she was preparing to board the airplane that will fly her to Orb. "When I get my hands on him, he will regret the day he ever met me. The nerve of him! Instead of him calling me to tell me, I had to find out from a news broadcast just like the rest of the world."

Although, it has been a year since she last been to Orb, Miriallia Haww, always found ways to keep in touch with her friends, whether it be via postcards, e-mails or phone calls, she kept in touch. After two wars, Miriallia felt she formed a strong bond with everyone that was onboard the Archangel. They were her family. Of course, thankfully, she had her parents, but their relationship was not the same. She did not have the same connection with her biological family like she had with her spiritual family. Of course, she also formed bonds with members from the Kusunagi and the Eternal, not to mention, a certain member of ZAFT; that in itself is another story for another day.

Miriallia was determined to go back to Orb and find out exactly what it was that was going on and help find Cagalli. Many questions came and went in her mind. She was very unsettled with the fact that not only did they not contact her, but when they were in contact, although short and infrequent, they did not mention having any problem of sorts. However long it took, she was going to get to the bottom of this. She was certain they purposely kept her in the dark and Cagalli was not simply missing. Yes. There's certainly something fishy about that whole situation and she could not wait to get to Orb to get started.

"Wherever you are Cagalli, we will find you. Just hang in there and be strong," she whispered as she looked out the window from where she sat.

---Back at Orb---

Kira and Athrun were driving over to Orb Headquarters to meet with Kisaka and get a status report on the missing Princess. Both were hoping to hear some good news.

"Is it true what the article said?"

Athrun startled, "what?" Since they left the estate, they were both silent and Athrun was so deep in thought that he had missed the question.

"I asked if what the article said was true."

Athrun stared at Kira for a moment, contemplating on his response. "If you are referring to the last article, asking if there is a future Mrs. Zala, then yes, it is true."

Kira inhaled sharply and gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. This did not go unnoticed by Athrun and knew he had to clarify his statement or else he would hate to face Kira's temper again. His body was still sore from the last time. "I don't wish to be nor will I ever be dishonest with you Kira, so I ask that you let me finish."

Kira's only response was a nod from him. He couldn't trust anything that might spill out while fighting to get control of him self.

"Only to a certain degree, the article is true. The whole thing was based on a conversation I had with Dearka and Yzak. Someone recorded the conversation and went to the press."

Kira's heart was beating at a fast rate. He was internally debating with himself if he wanted to hear the rest or not. On one side he could not and did not want to believe what he was hearing, on the other, he wanted to throttle Athrun for being so heartless. '_What about Cagalli? Did he forget about her so easily?_' What he was doing to his sister was unforgivable. Although inside he was in so much turmoil, on the outside he looked calm. He wanted answers and he wanted them now, but he knew he had to do this calmly in order to get to the truth. Fear ran through him, but he pushed it down in order to ask the questions that were running through his mind.

"So that means you will be marrying Meyrin?"

Athrun sighed deeply as he first looked outside the window and then turned to Kira, "no, she is not who I plan to marry. The same assumption has been circulating up at the PLANTs. Yzak is currently working on that problem and is investigating the matter, trying to find out who leaked the information."

"Then…does that mean…" Kira hesitated to finish that thought.

"Kira, the only woman I want to have the honor to call my wife is and will always be Cagalli. There's no one and will never be anyone else. She is the only one that completes me."

"Well that's a relief. I hate to beat up my best friend for hurting my baby sister," Kira replied as he turned to look at Athrun and let him see the smirk on his boyish face.

"He.he.he…er…right," Athrun said with uncertainty, but on the inside he was pouting as he thought, '_that didn't stop you before._'

In all seriousness, Kira continued, "but it's not me you need to convince. After we find Cagalli, you'll need to tell her. You both need to sit down and have a nice long chat and try to resolve everything because she will not go through this again." Kira made sure his expression and the tone of his voice sent his message loud and clear to Athrun. He was serious and was not going to allow any harm to befall on his sister. Not now, not ever again. Watching his sister to crumble and wither like a flower once was enough for him and vowed to never let it happen again.

Ever since the very first time he met Cagalli on Heliopolis, he admired her fiery spirit. She was full of life and determination. She was a fighter and never gave up on anything she truly believed in. He loved how she defied all odds, her stubbornness, and her tomboyish ways. Although he was stunned when he was told they were twins, he was proud and honored to be her brother. '_I swear, Cagalli, I will find you and bring you back. I know you are out there alive, I can feel your life-force and when I find you, I will help you find your way back. Remember, as long as there is a glimmer of light, there is hope because it shines brightly for us all._'

Athrun could only look out the window and stare at nothing. He had to agree with Kira, he had to talk to Cagalli and make her listen to him. Because of her stubbornness, he knew he had a long and hard fight to look forward to. He smiled. '_I don't care how long it takes Cagalli, but I will convince you and I am never letting you go._' Yet, he feared he may not ever get that chance if they failed to find her. '_We can't fail. We won't._' Athrun sighed deeply, "I know and I will, but let's just focus on finding her first before it's too late."

"Agreed."

Nothing else was said between them. Both understood each other and both welcomed the comfortable silence that existed. Soon, they found themselves at the gate of Orb Headquarters with one common goal: To find and bring back Cagalli no matter what it takes. Hope, fear, desperation were some of the emotions that ran through their very core. Both knew the longer it took to find her, the less of a chance to find her alive.

Kira and Athrun walked into the Command Room to find Kisaka talking with Murrue Ramius, Andrew Waltfeld, and Mwu La Flaga (aka Neo Roanoke).

"Murrue, Mr. Waltfeld, Mwu, I wasn't expecting to see you here," said Kira as he walked towards them.

"Hello Kira. We just got back from the PLANTs a few hours ago," answered Murrue as she and the rest saluted to each other.

"As soon as we saw the broadcast, we decided to pack up and take off, but it was easier said than done," Mwu chuckled, "but then again, you know us, we just love a challenge."

"Of course, DaCosta also notified me that a certain someone got a hold of him for some assistance and I suspected there was more than what was being said. By the way, how was your trip Mr. Dino?" Waltfeld asked Athrun.

"Successful as you can see Mr. Waltfeld."

Both Kira and Athrun were grateful for their understanding of Athrun's decision to go back to using his alias at this time.

"Andy, that can wait for later, don't you think?"

Waltfeld was about to answer when Mwu cut in, "that's a great idea, maybe Kira here can invite us over for dinner tonight, right?"

Everyone turned to look at Kira which made him very nervous. He gulped and took a step back, '_oh man, this isn't good._' Although he did not know what he will do or say when they started to bombard him with questions, he figured for now it was best to agree to have dinner at his place where they will be able to talk in private. '_Sooner or later they will have to know the truth,_' with resolve he stood still and without apprehension invited them, "yes, of course, you are all welcomed to come over tonight for dinner. I'll just call Lacus to let her know."

"How is the pink princess?" Mwu asked now that Kira had mentioned her.

Kira sighed, "As well as she can be."

Murrue felt that it would be best to change the subject, "we were just getting briefed on the status of the search from Colonel Kisaka. We are here to help any way we can."

"Thank you Murrue, every little help we can get is welcomed and appreciated. Alex and I were actually discussing taking the Gundams to search for Cagalli out of Orb waters. We just wanted to get a status from Kisaka before we took off, but with your assistance we can expand the search further out of Orb's borders."

"You believe she is no longer in Orb?" asked Waltfeld.

"I'm not certain, but I can feel she is no longer here," solemnly Kira answered.

Mwu heard the slight intake of air that Murrue took when she quietly gasped. He didn't have to look at her to know what she was thinking and decided it was best to distract her, "then that's what we'll do. With our scouts out there, that should help us find the Representative in no time at all," he suggested.

"Kira we should have a secured line to contact each other," Athrun suggested.

"You're right. Kisaka could you please get us all separate communicators that are not connected with Headquarters?"

"I will get them to you right away. If I may ask, is there a problem with the connection with Headquarters?"

"All that will be explained tonight, for now we will be in direct contact with each other and I will expect you to be my eyes and ears at Orb while I'm away and to keep me updated." Kira looks at everything and everyone around him and cannot help but feel suspicious after discovering that there might be someone behind this whole mess.

"Understood," was all that Kisaka could say at this time as he left to get the communicators. He did not dare question Kira's motives at this time, trusting that there were valid reasons for withholding information. As soon as he found and set the communicators to a secured line, he returned to the Command Room to find Kira and the rest going over some of the status reports. "Here are the communicators and they are already set to a protected frequency that we only have access to."

"Thank you Kisaka. When did we receive notice of the disturbance east from our border? And have you sent anyone to investigate?"

"A transport ship arrived early this morning and notified the authorities and as soon as they got the information and the location they contacted us. I sent the coast guard to investigate."

"Alex, I think we need to take a look for ourselves as well." Kira had a bad feeling about this.

"I think you're right."

Kira looked at everyone, "should you find anything, please contact us right away and be as discreet as possible. I will see you all tonight," he bowed, "and thank you for your help in finding my sister," he said quietly before he stood up and saluted to all of them. Both he and Athrun then turned to leave and prepare for their departure.

Within the hour Athrun and Kira were in the cockpits of their Gundams preparing to lift off to begin their search. Both were hoping to find something or someone that will lead them to Cagalli. Kira was grateful that help had arrived, but Athrun was worried about disclosing the information Kira and he had shared.

"Kira?"

"Hmm"

"Do you think it is a good idea to tell them at this time about our suspicions?"

Silence was his only answer and for a moment Athrun thought Kira had not heard or had refused to answer his question. He was about to explain his reasons when he was stopped by Kira's answer.

"I do."

"But you're hesitant."

Kira knew it was a statement and not a question. They had known each other since childhood and it did not surprise him that Athrun could read him so well. Yes. He was most certainly "hesitant" as Athrun put it, not because he did not trust them, but because there was a higher risk for the person or people involved could be alerted to their awareness. For this very same reason, Kira understood why Athrun would bring up the matter.

"I know what you're thinking and I agree – it is a risk – but I trust them and I know that not only will they do anything in their power to successfully find Cagalli, but would also give up their lives to keep her or any of us, safe. You know this as well Athrun."

"I know. I just can't help but distrust everything and everyone after… discovering how much Cagalli had suffered."

"I feel the same way, but we can't do this by ourselves. We need help and they are the only ones we could trust at this time."

Athrun knew Kira was right. There was no dispute about it. All he wanted to do now was to find Cagalli, hold her tight and never let go. Not ever. The damage that had been inflicted on his lover was enough to make him realize how much he took their love for granted. Athrun could now see that love was not enough to keep her safe and could not keep her eternally happy. He should have been here to tell her and show her how much he loved her. He should have been here to comfort her. More importantly, he should have been here to protect her. Suddenly, he found himself brought back from his thoughts as Kira called out to him.

"Athrun? Hello, Athrun?"

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah."

"I was getting worried for a moment when I didn't get a response from you. I had been calling you for at least a minute."

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"We're almost at the site."

"Oh, okay."

"I have to tell you Athrun, I didn't want to say anything before, but I have a bad feeling about this."

"You think it has something to do with Cagalli?"

"Yeah. And you?"

"Same."

Minutes later they arrived where the Coast Guard was and they could see lots of debris floating on the water as well as a couple of divers near the area. On the ship, there were a few workers moving about helping to retrieve fragments of what once was a boat. Kira decided it was best to get in touch with the Captain before they felt threatened. He pressed a few buttons on the Freedom's communicator.

"This is Kira Yamato, Ambassador and Representative of Orb. I wish to speak with the Captain of the ship," was heard through the ship's radio.

"This is Lieutenant Kintaro, second in command. The Captain will be with you in a moment," Kintaro said as he motioned for one of the ensigns to find the Captain.

"Thank you," said Kira as he hoped to speak with the Captain as soon as possible.

"This is Captain Suiko, how may I be of assistance Ambassador Yamato?"

"I am here to inquire into the disturbance that you are currently investigating. Have you found anything at this time? Are there any injured or any fatalities?"

"At this time we are pulling up every piece we can get to. There was no one in or near the area and I have divers looking for possible bodies at this time."

"I ask that when you arrive back at Orb, you report to Colonel Ledonir Kisaka. He will be overseeing the investigation. This is a matter of high security and everything should be kept classified. Do I make myself clear Captain?"

"Yes sir! I understand perfectly clear."

"Thank you." Kira then closed the communication line between them and looked up at the screen to see Athrun.

"I informed Kisaka and he will expect to hear from the Captain," said Athrun.

"Thanks. We should continue in this direction just in case someone did manage to survive and get far from the area."

"It looks like the boat was heading east," Athrun deduced from the wreckage.

"I agree."

After several hours of a fruitless search, both Kira and Athrun returned to Orb Headquarters. When they arrived, Kisaka had already left to proceed with the investigation of the wreckage while Murrue was left to oversee the incoming reports from all departments. Shortly thereafter, they left to ready themselves for dinner. They both felt that tonight would be a long night. If only they knew how right they were.

At the Athha Estate, Lacus was also getting ready for tonight. She had already made sure Myrna informed the cooks they would be having guests tonight and to have the maids prepare the rooms for their guest. Most likely, by the time everyone was done explaining, it will be too late to drive to their respective places. She had to prepare herself for she knew it will be hard to once again relive such awful moments. '_But Kira will be there with me,_' Lacus kept telling herself.

Soon Kira, Lacus, and Athrun found themselves in the sitting room waiting for their guests to arrive. They knew their friends would want an explanation of what was happening. They would want to know the truth in detail behind Cagalli's disappearance. Each one of them was prepared to tell their part. Tea was being prepared and dinner was ready to serve whenever they were ready.

The moment of truth came to them as the doorbell rang. All three of them stood and walked towards the entrance as the butler opened the door to reveal Waltfeld, Ramius, and La Flaga.

Lacus stepped forward and bowed, "Welcome, please come in. It's so nice to see you again."

Their guests turned to greet them as well.

"I see Kisaka didn't come with you." Kira noticed the Colonel's absence.

"Oh! That's right. He asked to tell you that he will be running late for dinner and to start without him." Murrue answered to his inquiry.

"Is there a problem?"

"No," Waltfeld answered, "he wanted to wait to some results from some tests he had requested."

Lacus felt it was best to get started before it got any later, "why don't we take a seat in the dining room? Dinner will be served shortly and I'm certain you would like us to begin."

Everyone walked into the dining room and took a seat to begin venturing into a long and dreadful – but necessary – tale full of pain, suffering, and loneliness. While Kira, Athrun, and Lacus told and explained the circumstances, Mwu, Andy and Murrue were stunned into complete silence by what was being said. Their expressions showed their disbelief, their surprise, and their resentment. As expected, the tale was told from the very beginning when Athrun was summoned up to their conspiracy theory. They left nothing out. After a few hours of conversing, the doorbell sounded. Of course, expecting Kisaka to come back from Headquarters, they did not pay any attention. So engrossed in their conversation that they did not even stop to question why Kisaka would even ring the doorbell.

Nevertheless, their actions were brought to a complete stop as soon as the individual walked in and said, "Good evening everyone."

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I made it a little extra long to make up for my tardiness. 

On the next chapter I want to concentrate a little more on Cagalli. Who knows we might even finally find out if they get to her on time or not. I don't know, what do you think? Should I tell you on Chapter 6 or wait till Chapter 7? Decision, decisions, decisions.

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Please take a moment and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

I would like to thank you all for your reviews. You guys are awesome! I do appreciate each an every one of you for your encouraging words. As I had said before, I will try to update at least once a week and here is the next installment. I may even have a surprise for you this weekend. Enjoy.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6:

---At the Island---

She started to rouse from the deep slumber she had succumbed to. Everything was blurry to her, at first, but started to clear as she rubbed the sleep off her eyes. The first thing she noticed was it was dark; evening had come while she was unconscious. Next, she noticed her throat was sore, her mouth was dry, her chest was congested, and her body ached. "I must have caught a cold," she said hoarsely and started coughing afterwards. Finally, after her coughing subsided, she noticed that her clothes were a fairly damp. '_Did it continue to rain while I was out cold? No wonder I caught a cold._'

Although it was dark, Cagalli struggled to sit up and looked around her. There was hardly any light to actually see anything. The dark clouds that surrounded the moon impeded any luminosity to come from it, least of all reveal any stars in the sky. She reached out to grab her duffle bag that she knew was near her to search for the flashlight. Once she found it, she struggled to stand; her body felt heavy and had little strength within. She felt lightheaded and wavered for a moment, but then gained her balance and as soon as she felt confident, she walked a short distance from the rafts, '_I shouldn't go far. I don't know how far I am from the cave or if I'll have the strength to come back and get my stuff._' With that last thought, she focused on finding a dry place to stay the night that will hopefully give her shelter from the rain.

As soon as she retrieved her duffle bag, she settled under a tree that would give her some adequate cover from the oncoming rain. She managed to start a small fire and knew it would not last long, but at least she had some warmth. Her body had weakened from her exertion and was uncontrollably shivering. "I must have a fever if I've got the chills," she whispered, not wanting to force any more voice from her. Not that it mattered whether or not she completely lost her voice, but she certainly did not wish to feel the pain from her sore throat at the moment nor did she want to start coughing again. "I'm so tired. I should try to sleep and hopefully tomorrow morning I can find the cave." She tried to get herself comfortable at the base of the tree she was leaning against and looked up at sky, '_I wish I at least had the stars to keep me company tonight,_' she sighed at her silly thought.

Cagalli closed her eyes hoping sleep would come to her but failed miserably. Her mind contemplated on many things. She wondered if they were still searching for her. Did they find the boat? Had they told Athrun, would he even care she was gone? Will they tell him the truth or even mention the miscarriage? That last thought brought her back to the moment when she found out her baby was a girl.

_Flashback_

_She was lying on the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling, but seeing nothing at the same time. Her amber eyes were dull, not one sparkle could be seen within them and she heard the door to her room open, but did not care to look who it was that had walked in. For all she cared, it could have been Death coming to take her away and would not have resisted. Indeed. She would have welcomed such opportunity to join her unborn child in Nirvana._

"_Hey sis, how are you feeling today?" Kira asked and hoped to get some kind of response from her. After her breakdown and frantic request to keep her loss a secret, she had remained silent. He worried for her and hated to see her in such a state. "I just finished speaking with the doctor and he said you could be released today. Wouldn't it be nice to go home? I'm sure you would be more comfortable at home than here." He waited patiently for some kind of response from her._

_His patience was finally rewarded._

"_What was it?" Cagalli whispered._

_Kira barely caught her words and was stunned for a moment, not knowing what exactly she was asking about, he hesitated to ask her to clarify. Nonetheless, he asked, "What was what?"_

_She could start feeling the annoyance rising within her when he failed to answer her question and could not hold back to express it with her words._

"_My baby! What was my baby? A boy or a girl? I don't want my baby to continuously be referred to as IT!"_

_Kira was taken back from her outburst. He wanted a reaction from her, but definitely was not expecting this type of reaction. However, he understood her displeasure. Lacus had forewarned him this might happen and to be prepared to give an answer. At first, he questioned if it would be a good idea to tell her, but after talking with the doctor he understood it would be best to tell her. 'The doctor did say in order for her to find closure she should be told if she wished to know. Otherwise, she would never find peace.' Thankfully, the hospital and staff had the capability to obtain the information._

"_The doctor told Lacus and I that the baby was a..." he found his throat constricting on him and fought to gain control to finish his sentence._

"_A what?" she asked impatiently._

"_A girl," Kira finally said as he turned away from his sister not wanting to see her expression._

"_A girl," Cagalli whispered as she looked down to her belly and caressed it. Without realizing it, she had started to shed some tears._

_However, the tears did not go unnoticed by Kira, "sis?" he asked cautiously._

_Cagalli looked at Kira and saw the apprehension in his eyes and understood what he in fact wanted to ask. She knew she needed to ease his doubts. "Thank you Kira."_

"_No problem. I'll send Lacus in to help you get ready to leave."_

_She nodded and started looking up at the ceiling again while she thought of her daughter. In the background she could hear Kira's footsteps leading away from her and as soon as she heard the door open, she called out to him, "Kira."_

_He turned to look at his sister, "Yeah sis?"_

"_I would like to be left alone for awhile when we return home…" her words were cut short by Kira's outburst._

"_But…"_

_She was not about to relent, she needed this now more than ever, but needed him to understand as well, "Please Kira. I need and want some time to myself. I need time to think things through and to mourn on my own for my baby girl." She finally turned to look at Kira so that he could see her determination and her need within her eyes._

_He looked at her closely and he knew he could not deter her from it, "Okay. I just…please don't shut us out, that's all I ask. We are here for you and always will be. You know that, right?"_

"_I do."_

"_Good. Just don't forget it, okay?"_

"_I won't. Thank you."_

_End Flashback_

Her daughter. The one person she could have called her own was lost to her forever. Her baby girl was one of the reasons why she found herself back on the island. Cagalli felt guilty for her daughter's death. '_She didn't even get the chance to take her first breath._' She would start the 'what if' game. Asking the same questions over and over again without receiving an answer. All she knew was that she was not strong enough to protect her baby and needed to atone for her failure. '_A life for a life._' She needed to be with her daughter and make it up to her.

'_If not in this world, then in the next._'

Don't misunderstand her. Cagalli will never forget that she had her only family at Orb and knew they will always be there for her, but that in itself was the problem. '_I no longer matter but they do._' She could not live with guilt knowing she was the cause of their worries. How could she continue living knowing their happiness and their lives were hindered because of her and her troubles? She snorted, '_I am trouble._' She was not going to be an obstacle for them. She will no longer interfere with their lives. '_I may have lost my future, but I'll be damned if they lose theirs._'

They will continue living long after she was gone.

'_Athrun._'

He left her behind and forgot about her because she was an obstacle for him. For his future. He was another reason why she was on this island. Before she left this world, she wanted to remember what they had. Remember when they first met. Relive the day in her mind while she drifted away from life. She had one final detail to accomplish. Cagalli needed to say good-bye. Needed to find closure. '_He said good-bye, in a cold-hearted way, but he said it._' Now it was her turn. She thought of different ways to do so and many would cause him pain. '_What will I gain from his pain? I will still be alone._'

Peace. That is what she desired the most. It did not matter to her if Athrun ever got to hear the words, but at least she got to say them. In the end, she would finally be at peace with that chapter of her life.

No regrets. She freely gave her love, body and soul to him and wouldn't have it any other way. '_And he will give his to someone else._' More tears were freely released from her eyes. That one thought cut her deeply for she truly believed he was her soul mate. Believed they belonged to one another, however, he did not feel the same.

She looked up into the darkened sky.

'_I'm so tired. I just want to sleep._' She thought to herself as she silently cried. But she wasn't only physically tired, but mentally and emotionally exhausted as well. Cagalli was tired of fighting against the pain. Tired of feeling lonely and unwanted. Tired of feeling like a failure. '_How did I let myself get this low? This isn't me._' She was lost within her despair and hated the feeling. Before she was a fighter and now she found she no longer had the strength to do so. '_Eventually, even the mighty fall._' How can anyone expect her to stay strong? How can they expect her to lead a country when she can't even find her own way? Did they think she could just move on and act like nothing ever happened? '_I don't think so._' After all, she was only human.

'_I'm sorry father. I let you down._'

She wondered if he was ashamed of her. Would he forgive her? She recalled how they always argued, '_and the painful slap I received the last time,_' she thought as she reached to touch her cheek. In spite of everything, they had a few heart to heart conversations and she learned a great deal from them. Unfortunately, she also remembered the last time she spoke with him and the last time she saw him. He had pulled her to the Kusanagi where Kisaka was waiting for her and said that she needed to leave, but that she would not be alone.

'_You were wrong father. I am alone!_'

Her silent cry transformed into a harsh one. Unfortunately, the more she cried, the more she coughed and the more her body ached. But she continued. Why? Because soon she will no longer feel anything. Not her heartache, not her fear, and not her loneliness. '_Father was alone. Was that my destiny as well? I guess so because I could be surrounded by people every day and I will always feel lonely._' Many days and nights she spent contemplating such questions and tonight was no different.

Not long after she cried herself to sleep did the rain come and go, the fire was extinguished, the sky cleared and the stars and the moon broke through. All of this went unnoticed by her and her restless sleep went uninterrupted.

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I'm sorry it was not the chapter that I know you are all waiting for, but like I said before I may have a little surprise for you guys this weekend. I got a few days off and decided to concentrate on my story a little more.

I hope the characters are a little too OOC. I know most us are used to seeing some of the characters act in a certain way. However, I would like to believe that everyone have their ups and down and tend to change a little or let their guards down once in a while. Some can even be pushed to act differently. But I will say that sooner or later they do come back to themselves. Just give them a little time.

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Please take a moment and review.


	7. Chapter 7

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

Thank you for your reviews. You guys are awesome! I do want to apologize for not updating this weekend. I truly did plan on doing so; unfortunately, I was not expecting my son to have an accident. Once I found out, I dropped everything I was doing, but luckily he is doing well and I can now somewhat concentrate on other things. I hope you enjoy the next installment.

On with the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7:

---At the Athha Estate---

Everyone turned toward the one person they never expected to see anytime soon.

"M…Meyrin?" Athrun stood from his chair slowly. Unsure if he should approach her or not.

The one fleeting thought that passed through their mind was, '_what is she doing here?_'

Lacus did not like the feeling that was budding within her, '_nothing good will come about from her sudden arrival._' Her protective instincts kicked in. She did not know what Meyrin's reasons were for showing up at Orb, but she knew she would not let Meyrin destroy any possibilities of reuniting Athrun and Cagalli. Apparently, after looking around, she saw the others felt the same way.

"Hi Athrun. I'm so glad you're okay," Meyrin said in a sweet voice.

To sweet if you asked the others.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you and after hearing the news about the Representative, I figured you would come here and I felt I should at least try to help and give you my support."

Athrun had no clue how to respond to her statement, he looked around for some assistance and all he got was either a shrug of shoulders or a blank look.

Lacus strongly felt compelled to lead the conversation away from the topic of Cagalli's disappearance. "My, you're all wet. Were you caught in the rain?"

"Oh, yes! It started to rain on my way here and was dropped off by a taxi at the gate. The guard was kind enough to lend me an umbrella, but I still managed to get wet."

"Well then let me call Myrna so that she may take you to a guest room. You should take a hot shower and put on some dry clothes right away. We wouldn't want you getting sick, would we?"

"Oh, of course not. Thank you for your hospitality," Meyrin finished saying as Myrna approached.

"My lady, you called?" asked Myrna.

"Yes. Could you please show Ms. Hawke to one of our guest rooms? She needs a hot shower and some dry clothes, also please prepare some more tea." Lacus requested.

"Of course, my lady," Myrna turned to Meyrin, "if you would please follow me Ms. Hawke."

Meyrin nodded and excused herself from the others.

Kira was the first to speak as soon as he knew Meyrin was out of earshot, "Athrun? Any idea why she's here or how she knew you would be here?"

Athrun shook his head, "I don't have a clue whatsoever. I never told her and I'm certain Yzak and Dearka would not ever volunteer such information, especially to her. They don't like her."

"Well I'll have to agree with them," said Mwu, "there's something not right with that girl."

"She acts like a love sick pup, if you asked me," Waltfeld decided to add his thoughts as well.

Murrue had her own opinions in regards to the young girl, "All I could say is that I don't trust her. I'm sorry Athrun, maybe it's just woman intuition, but I just don't trust her."

"I'll have to agree with Ms. Murrue and I will not have her jeopardize any chance of finding Cagalli," Lacus voiced out loud.

"Indeed," Kira agreed, "Athrun, I will not allow my sister to get hurt again nor will I allow her wellbeing to be jeopardized because of Meyrin."

"I know Kira, I know. Believe me; I don't like the idea any more than you do. I'll think of something to get her to go back to PLANTs."

"One thing for sure," everyone turned to Waltfeld to see him rubbing his chin contemplatively, "we will need to be careful of what we say regarding Cagalli's disappearance around her."

"Andy's right," Murrue agreed.

Lacus saw Myrna come in with the tea, "why don't we have our tea in the sitting room and we can discuss the issue further in there. It'll be a little while before she joins us."

Everyone agreed and moved over to the sitting room where they sat talking. Shortly afterwards, as predicted, Meyrin did join them for some tea. While they were inquiring into her trip to Orb, they all heard the front door close and footsteps heading in their direction.

"That could be Kisaka," Kira said as he looked towards the entrance to the sitting room.

He was right, but there was one other person with him.

"Mir!" Lacus ran up to her friend and hugged her as the others followed to greet her as well.

"Hi guys. Glad to see me?"

"Of course Mir! When did you arrive?" Kira asked as he hugged his friend as well.

"I just arrived today and I was actually surprised to see him," Mir jerked her thumb towards Kisaka, "at the airport."

Kira and Athrun looked at Kisaka silently asking to explain.

"I was going over some incoming roasters as I waited for the results and I came by the name of Ms. Haww. I jotted down her flight schedule and decided it would be best to pick her up myself to help avoid any unnecessary delays," Kisaka explained.

For a moment, everyone had forgotten that Meyrin was in the room until Mir saw her, "oh! Hello there. How are you?"

Everyone turned to watch Meyrin, "Hi. I'm well and you?"

"Exhausted," was all Mir can think of answering to keep herself from saying anymore. If she had, she probably would have started to grill her.

Kira turned to Kisaka, "You remember Meyrin Hawke?"

"Of course. It is nice to see you again," said Kisaka as he bowed.

"Thank you, uhm, it is nice to see you again as well," Meyrin said in return.

"Kisaka? Did you receive the results you were waiting for?" asked Murrue.

Kisaka inwardly sighed and looked at everyone for a moment before answering, "I did," then he turns to Kira, "but I believe this is something I'll need to discuss with you in private at this time."

Kira did not like the sound of that, but if Kisaka felt it was necessary to speak in private then he'll have to agree. For now he'll have the ladies retire while the rest moved to his office to discuss the matter.

"Okay," he says and turns to Lacus, "it is getting late, why don't you show the ladies to their rooms while we discuss the matter. I'm certain they are all tired. I know that you have had a long day as well."

"I'm sorry Kira, but I'll have to decline at this time. If this has anything to do with Cagalli, then I want to hear it as well," Lacus protested.

"I'll have to agree with Lacus. I didn't travel back to Orb just to be kept in the dark," said Mir.

Kira looked at the other men for some help, but none came to his rescue. None dared to go against the women. He sighed and agreed to them staying.

"Okay Kisaka, please continue," was all that Kira needed to ask to prompt the Colonel in relaying the information that was given to him.

"I suggest we all take a seat," he began, "as you will not like what I have to tell."

Every one of them took a seat in the office and waited with anticipation to what Kisaka had to say. What news could he have that felt so foreboding?

"As requested, I oversaw the investigation of the wreckage found east of Orb's borders. Once Captain Suiko arrived at port, I had my team seize the remains from his ship. A few…items were found and brought to my attention…" Kisaka paused for a moment to get his thoughts in order. He knew what he had to say next will initiate turmoil within his comrades.

Everyone in the room wanted to start questioning Kisaka. What did they find? What items? Why does he hesitate to continue? What did he request to test? And finally, what exactly were the results? But they knew it was best to wait and give him the opportunity to finish relaying the information.

"Among the debris there was a small trace of blood which I immediately sent to the laboratory. There was also evidence showing the destruction of the boat was intentional. A duffle bag was found as well and it contained some female clothing, an officer's uniform, and a wig," Kisaka turned to look directly at Kira, "at first I did not want to believe it, but everything confirms it to be true."

"What Kisaka?" Kira demanded, "What are you telling us?"

"Kira, the clothes I found belong to none other than Cagalli."

"WHAT!" Both Athrun and Kira exclaimed.

"How can you be positive it's hers?" asked Waltfeld.

"Yeah, they could belong to someone else," La Flaga reasoned.

"There is more you are not telling us," stated Lacus while Mir just nodded her head, agreeing with Lacus' assumption. Meyrin just sat there quietly. Whether it was from shock or disbelief they did not know, but it definitely did not go unnoticed by them.

Kisaka nodded in agreement. Understanding they were going to be skeptical, he started to show them the proof, "this…" he pulled out something from the inside pocket of his uniform and tossed it to Kira, "was what led me to confirm they were Cagalli's. I found it in the pocket of one of the pants."

Kira caught the item and saw that it was a black leather wallet, more specifically, Cagalli's wallet. He remembered seeing it before. He opened the wallet and placed it on the table in front of him for all to see and every one of them, not including Kisaka, was stunned into silence. For what was in front of them was Cagalli's identification card.

"That…can't be," Mir whispered, shaking her head in denial she continued "someone could have stolen that from her." She looked up at Kisaka hoping that he would confirm her theory, "you can't possibly believe she was on the boat just because you found her wallet. That could have been placed there by anybody."

"She's right Kisaka. You can't expect me to believe my sister was on that boat only because you found her wallet."

Athrun could not believe what he was hearing, '_there's more, I know there is. He wouldn't just claim she was on the boat for nothing._' He stared at Kisaka and could see that he was unsettled, "you're not telling us everything," he accused, "what else did you find?"

Everyone waited with abated breath for his response.

"I received the lab results of the hair samples found on the wig as well as the blood traces on the debris. The results were run through our database for any possible match. Regrettably, there was one definite match to that of Cagalli Yula Athha." He heard the gasps that he had anticipated, but not once did he look away from Kira while carefully reading his reaction.

Kira was torn. He did not know what to say or do at the moment, he felt frozen in time. All that kept echoing in his mind were two phrases, "one definite match" and "Cagalli Yula Athha." They kept replaying over and over again. '_That's not possible. She's not gone. I won't accept it!_' he cried out in his mind. He clenched his hands and gritted his teeth, his throat constricted but he managed to force out his words, "what else?"

Athrun on the other hand felt numb. His bright emerald eyes had dulled and stared out to nothing. He felt his world collapsing around him. '_Have I really lost her? Is she really gone forever?_' He was thrown out of his thoughts when he heard Kisaka.

"We were able to find a partial identification number from the boat and we compared it to all possible registered owners. A few came up with possible matches and I contacted each and every owner, eliminating one by one until I spoke to one owner who stated that he had recently sold his boat. He claims a young lady saw the For Sale sign and asked to purchase it immediately and offered to pay in cash. He admitted he had failed to file the sale's receipt and change of ownership to the Registrar's office and offered to hand over the paperwork to me," as he finished explaining, he pulled out the paperwork to Kira.

No one was expecting to hear the name that came from Kira when he read it out loud.

"Vittoria Dea."

It did not take long for Kisaka to see everyone react differently. Mir could no longer hold herself back and began to weep. Lacus could only go to her to try to comfort her although in the inside she too wanted to just cry out as well. '_Later. My time will come later._' Mwu was holding onto Murrue who was also upset. Waltfeld could only bend his head down, holding back his anger. Athrun just got up and left. Kira, however, stayed in his seat as he crumbled up the paper in his fist and his eyes fill with tears.

The only one that was at a loss was Meyrin. She could not understand why they had such strong reactions to a name. '_Why would it be so upsetting? Shouldn't they be rejoicing it was not Cagalli?_' were her thoughts as she looked around her. There was only one way to find out and she hoped they would tell her, "I don't understand. It's not Cagalli."

Everyone was silent for a short time. No one really wanted to admit it, but they knew it was Cagalli. Who else would have known? And for a moment, Meyrin thought no one would answer her and was about to say something else when she was cut off.

"It is Cagalli. She is the only one that would use that name because…because she's the only one that would use that name," whispered Lacus as she looked up to Meyrin. Only deep sadness could be seen in Lacus' eyes, but she kept strong for her and for everyone else.

"Why?" was all that Meyrin could ask, still not understanding what that name meant.

But it was not Lacus that answered her this time. "Because Vittoria Dea is also—" she was suddenly cut off by Kisaka.

"Goddess of Victory."

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I had promised a surprise for you, so please enjoy the next chapter. Since I had a few extra days off last week, I decided to work very hard on my story and give you guys a double chapter this weekend. Of course, nothing goes as planned. But I hope you enjoy your belated surprise. Please enjoy the next installment.

After this, I will continue to try and update at least once a week.

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Please take a moment and review.


	8. Chapter 8

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

Thank you for your reviews. You guys are awesome! Here is the second part of my surprise. Please enjoy the double feature.

On with the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8:

For the last several days, everyone in the Athha Estate was mourning. Kira relentlessly ordered for everything to be retested, he was in denial and wanted to find any little discrepancy within the tests. Unfortunately, all the tests confirmed the absolute truth: Cagalli Yula Athha was aboard the boat. He spent the last few nights battling his own battles because of that truth. '_I refuse to believe my sister is gone. I can still feel her. It's faint, but it's there._' He needed to talk to Athrun directly; what did he believe. Kira wanted to know, needed to know, he was not the only one.

Athrun, on the other hand, had kept himself secluded in his room. He needed to think, needed to figure things out. He, as well, refused to accept that Cagalli was gone. He did not come back for nothing and did not come back to fail. Most certainly, he did not come back to lose the love of his life. '_I know you are out there and I will find you Cagalli._' Something was not right with the whole story. Question after question plagued his mind every single day and night. He needed to think clearly and figure out this intricate puzzle. There was only one thing he was completely positive about, without a doubt, Cagalli Yula Athha was never simple.

No one will dissuade him from his determination.

Abruptly, he was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on his door. Without a look toward the door, he answers, "come in."

"Athrun, I believe it is time for us to talk," Kira announced as he walks into Athrun's room.

"About?"

"Cagalli."

"I see," was all Athrun said.

"Do you truly believe she's gone?"

That got his attention and he turned to face Kira. He couldn't help but wonder, "Do you?"

Kira chuckled and shook his head, "now I asked you first, but just this once, I'll answer. No. I don't."

"Then, there my friend is your answer," Athrun said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Kira sighed and walked toward the window, "I can still feel her," he says as he looked up to see a starlit sky and a bright full moon.

"What are you talking about?"

"Besides Lacus, Kisaka, Cagalli, and now you, no one else knows about the special bond that exists between my sister and me. Somehow, we can.…feel each other. That's about the best way to describe it. I can feel certain feelings and sometimes I can feel her life force and….vice versa. She can feel mine."

Kira turns to see Athrun now standing by him, listening closely to his words, "we've theorized that this bond, although weak, was what kept leading us to each other when we first met. Now, I know it sounds crazy, but it's what it is."

Athrun nods once, "I believe you only because I can somehow feel something is happening with her, but never really stopped to think about it. I just let it be." He then looks to Kira, wanting to see him directly as he voiced his question, "before this conversation goes any further, I want to know one thing."

Kira directs his attention toward Athrun, "and what will that be?"

"What do you feel now?"

"I can't tell what exactly she's feeling at the moment, but I'm positive I can feel her energy…but…" Kira closes his eyes and remains silent, he was hesitant to continue.

"But?" Athrun asked, hoping that would be enough to push Kira into finishing what he had started to say.

"But it is very weak. Barely there." Kira whispered.

"I see. Then that means we have little time to find her."

"Then you…"

"I also feel that she is alive." Athrun looked out the window as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "I can not, dare not, and will not give up on her! The question now is where can she be?"

"I have no idea. I've gone through everything over and over again and I still don't understand what she was doing on that boat and where she was going. Why was she going east?"

"Not east." Athrun interjects.

"What?" Kira was confused, '_what is he talking about?_'

"She wasn't going east."

"What do you mean? The wreckage was found east of Orb's borders!" Kira exclaimed.

"Calm down Kira and I'll explain. I've also thought about the entire thing. That's all I could think about and I agree it doesn't make any sense. But we kept leaving one piece out of the puzzle."

"And what's that?"

Athrun turns to Kira, "Cagalli."

"Cagalli?"

"We kept ruling her out and that was our mistake. Just listen and then you can tell me if I'm right or wrong."

"Alright, I'm listening." Kira sits on the bed and nods signaling for Athrun to begin.

"Everything was just too simple. The blood traces, the wallet, the clothes, the explosion, the boat, but most of all, the location." Athrun can see that Kira was confused as to what exactly he was explaining, so he decided he needed to go on a different direction in his explanation. "Tell me, when has Cagalli ever been simple?"

Kira stopped to think over everything Athrun had just said, but he knew there was only one answer to his question, "never."

"Exactly, so where does that lead us to?"

Kira's head snapped up to see Athrun nod. '_Why didn't I think of that before?_' He was furious with himself. It was all so obvious and right in front of his eyes and yet, he completely missed it. "Everything was all set up."

Athrun, once again, nodded his head in agreement.

But there was one thing Kira continued to question, "where, then, was she going if not east?"

"West," was all Athrun gave as his answer.

"West? What's west of Orb's border?"

"The island."

Kira's eyes widened. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about that. "The island, the one you and she were stranded on. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Don't worry about it Kira," he didn't want his friend to start blaming himself, "let's just worry about getting to her on time. She's been there long enough for her to do something stupid. You said it yourself. Her energy force is getting weaker. I suggest we both go out there and find her ourselves."

"You're right, but we'll need to tell the rest. We can't leave without an explanation, nor can we leave without preparing for the worst. With their help, we will have a better chance in helping her, don't you think?"

"I agree. Tomorrow morning at breakfast we'll let them know and then we'll start making the preparations for our departure and our arrival."

Kira got up, "until tomorrow then."

"Until tomorrow," Athrun agreed.

Kira then walked out of the room and both men were determined to finally bring Cagalli back. However, they were both convinced they were the only ones aware of the good news.

They were wrong.

Regrettably, there was another pair of ears that had heard the entire conversation.

---At the PLANTs---

A man sits behind his desk going through the routine paperwork. He had just acquired the one position he had sought out for so long. It had only been about a year since he obtained the title. He was going far. The man had a vision and a plan to make it come true. '_I will not fail like those other idiots._' Nothing will change. '_Granted, I may have to make modifications, but I will succeed._' The man was jerked out of his thoughts as the phone rang. It was his private line.

"Landers"

He was silent as he listened to the other person on the line. A grin was placed on his face.

"So they believe the Princess is still alive."

A bigger smile had begun to grow wider.

"An island west of Orb's borders, you say?"

The other person had finally remained silent.

"Well then, thank you for the wonderful information. This works out much better…"

The other person decided to interrupt.

"Yes, yes, yes. What, you ask, I plan to do? Well, I'll have my best man retrieve her, my dear, and in the meantime, I want you to stall them. I know you can do it. Now, I must go, but you will continue to keep me updated. I would very much enjoy staying one step ahead of them." Landers said and soon after, he hung up the phone. He felt like a victor; he was on top of the world and no one would dare bring him down. For one thing was certain, no one will be allowed to interfere. '_Soon my dear Princess, you will be mine and then…then I'll get what I want._'

---At Athrun's Office---

Dearka barges into the office, "hey buddy, how are you on this fine day?"

"What are you doing here you buffoon? Don't you a job to do or a home to go to?" Yzak questioned as he looked up and glared at Dearka. "By the way, how did you get through? I specifically said I did not want to be disturbed."

"Whoa man, chill out, Shiho let me in. She said it was the least she could do for annoying her earlier today. Payback for making her 'play' as your secretary when she could be doing something else more productive."

Yzak sighed as he shook his head, "that woman is going to be the end of me one of these days."

All Dearka could do was laugh at his friend's misery. He had to admit, they made a good couple, but most importantly, she was the only one that kept Yzak's temper in line. '_She's scary when she's mad_.' He shudders from that thought and decided a change of topic will help get rid of the willies. "Have you heard from Athrun?"

"I spoke with him yesterday. Although there was convincing evidence that the Representative is no longer with us in this world, he is stubbornly refusing to quit looking for her."

Dearka sat down in the chair that was directly in front of the desk where Yzak sat, "poor guy, he's really in denial."

"Whether it's denial or not, it matters not. What he needs to do is get back here and do his job. I have better things to do then to play his understudy while he is out there playing the hero. He's such a bastard," ranted Yzak.

Not wanting to let his friend continue, Dearka decided to a new topic is in order, "hey, let's get out of here. It's late and it beats the hell out me to try and figure out why you are still here. Why don't we leave all this for tomorrow before your woman decides to come in here and drag you out, okay?"

"You're just a chicken."

"Yeah, well, I prefer to be a live chicken than one with its head cut off. And, not to mention, you feel the same way." Dearka retorts.

"Whatever." Yzak mumbles, not wanting to deny nor admit Dearka's claim. He started to gather his belongings when he remembered something, "what's the status?" He did not need to explain himself for Dearka knew what he was talking about.

"There block has been disrupted, but we still cannot find the original location. We are only hitting dummies at this time."

"Very well, continue with the search. I have a bad feeling that has a lot to do with what's happening within Council Chambers. Trouble is brewing."

This gets Dearka's attention, "who's the instigator?"

Before opening the door, Yzak looks directly at Dearka. "Chairman Landers," was all he needed to say for his friend to understand the gravity of the situation.

No good ever comes when the Chairman is involved.

---Back at Orb---

At the Athha Estate, everyone sat in the dining room while they listened to Athrun and Kira's theory in regards to Cagalli. Many of them were thrilled with the news; however, a few were afraid their hopes would be crushed.

"All right, then it is agreed that Kira and I will take off to the island as soon as we arrive at HQ," Athrun started to say.

"Right, while I'll get in touch with the doctor that has previously treated Cagalli to prepare for her arrival. I believe he can be trusted to keep everything under wraps," continued Kisaka.

"Mwu, Andy and I will meet you at HQ, as a matter of fact, I think it's best we take off now to prepare," said Murrue.

"Then we agree. Lacus, we'll need you and the girls to prepare for her arrival here. You know what needs to be done," stated Kira.

"Athrun, may I go with you?" asked Meyrin.

"Uhm," Athrun looked around for some help, but none came to his rescue. He sighed, "I think you better stay here with Lacus and help her out. Kira and I will be fine." Athrun then looked at Kira, "we should take off, don't you think?"

Kira nodded and turned toward Murrue, "we'll see you at HQ shortly."

Murrue, La Flaga and Waltfeld said their good-byes and walked out the door.

Kisaka decided it was best to take off as well and begin the preparations.

With the others gone that only left Lacus, Mir, Meyrin, Kira, and Athrun at the table.

"I could help you fly the shuttle. That would be one less thing to worry about," suggested Meyrin.

Athrun was about to reply when he was cut off by Kira. "That won't be necessary. We'll be able to manage, but thank you for your concerns. I believe you would be a greater help to Lacus and Mir, I'm sure they will need all the assistance they can get."

"He's right Meyrin. I would really appreciate your assistance here at home. There is so much to do and so little time. Come, let's get started," Lacus stated as she stood to leave.

Meyrin looked at them, trying to figure out what else she can say. She did not want to stay behind, and definitely did not want to be away from Athrun. '_Damn, nothing I say will get them to change their mind._'

Athrun saw this as the best time to make their departure, "Kira, we should take off. I'll get the car and meet you outside." He excused himself and walked out the dining room.

Kira then turned to Lacus, "He's right, we should go. I'll see you later." He kissed Lacus' forehead and said his good-byes. After he reassured them that everything will be fine, he took off to meet Athrun outside.

"Let's go. By the time we get to HQ, they should have the Freedom and Justice ready for us," said Kira as he got in the car. He was anxious in seeing his sister again. '_Hang on Cagalli. We'll be there soon enough, but first…_' Kira turned to look at Athrun, "you know we need to do something about Meyrin. She'll only complicate things."

"I know and I've been working on the best way to send her back to PLANTs"

"Will it work?" Kira had his doubts since he knew Meyrin could be persistent.

"She'll have no other choice," was Athrun's only answer showing he'll have it no other way. He too had a lot to lose with Meyrin's presence. He had vowed to not let anything ever get in between Cagalli and him ever again and he was not about to break it.

Unfortunately, they were all unaware of a man who, at this very moment, was flying in a helicopter searching for their missing Princess near the islands she was currently residing.

---At the Island---

Cagalli had, for the last several days, secluded herself in the cave. What she thought was a cold was in fact an acute pneumonia. Her body was burning up, she was sweating profusely, but she was freezing on the inside, her coughs were severe and filled of blood, and her breathing was labored. The little rations she still had went untouched. She had no appetite, not even her last bottle of Vodka tempted her. Above all, she had very little strength left in her. Most of her time was spent sleeping and had yet to make an effort in rebuilding the small campfire she once had not long ago.

Outside, near the cave, a noise could be heard. '_What is that noise?_' She remained as silent as she could, which was difficult with her constant cough, and tried to listen carefully and patiently. '_That sounds like a helicopter. Could they have finally found me?_' She tried not to panic, but this certainly was not something she was looking forward to. With great effort, Cagalli stood for a moment just to fall on her hands and knees. '_I guess I'll just have to crawl my way out of here._' Slowly she made it out to the entrance of the cave to look up into the sky. Searching for the helicopter she had heard. Her vision would become blurry and she would rub them to help clear them up. Finally, she got a look at the helicopter. '_That's not one of ours. I wonder who it can be._' The one important thing she learned from being involved in two wars was to listen to her instincts. At this very moment, they were telling her not to trust whoever it was on board the helicopter. She started crawling back into the cave and looking around to see what she can use to defend herself. Cagalli knew she could not physically fight her way out.

Once she got close to her duffle bag, she started pulling out everything and anything that can help her. Cagalli found her gun that still had a few bullets, she also found the gun powder she had used on the boat, and her lighter was also pulled out along with a blouse. '_I can use this to stuff it into the Vodka bottle to use as an igniter._' She then started to crawl back near the entrance of the cave to spread the gun powder from one end to another until there was nothing left. She covered it a little so it couldn't be seen easily. Once done, she moved back to sit on her bedding and wait for the stranger to make his or her appearance. '_Whoever it is, I will not go easily._' She looked around the cave, memorizing every single detail she could and stopped her perusal once her eyes fell on the envelope she had left for Athrun. Cagalli reached out and grabbed it to hold close to her heart.

Moments later, she heard footsteps outside near the cave. She looked at the envelope, folded it, and placed it in her back pocket. Her gun was never far from her. Cagalli could now see the shadow of a man. '_Who could that be?_' She once again rubbed her eyes to clear them up. Whoever it was did not need to know all her weaknesses. Finally, she saw the man right by the entrance and fired a warning shot. '_Hopefully, that will keep him far enough away._' Her hands were shaking and her cough continued. Every time she had her fit, she would cough up more blood. '_I can't let him see the blood. He'll realize I'm too sick to resist him._'

"Representative Athha? Please, put your weapon down. I mean you no harm. We have been searching for you for many days. I'm here to help." The man called out, hoping that will convince her he was of no threat to her.

Cagalli knew not to trust him, '_Yeah right, keep dreaming buddy. But I do need to find out who he is or at least who he claims to be._' She cleared her throat, at least as much and as silent as she could, "who are you?" she asked hoarsely. Her throat hurt like hell and her voice was only loud enough for the man to hear her.

"My name is Vladimir and I am part of the search team." The man declared.

'_Liar!_' she said to herself. "Are you with Orb?"

"Yes" Vladimir answered.

'_Liar!_' She had never seen him before. "Who sent you?"

"Your brother sent me of course. Please allow me to come close. You sound like you need medical attention. Let me take you back to Orb."

'_Liar!'_ Her instincts were telling her to keep him away at all cost. Nothing he said was true. "Why aren't you in your uniform, officer?"

"Your brother allowed us to search in our civvies ma'am." Vladimir explained.

'_That's it! I've heard enough. Kira would never allow that._' She fired another warning shot, "stay away from me. Go away!" Cagalli yelled out.

Unknown to the two of them, Kira and Athrun were fast approaching the island.

Unfortunately, Cagalli's aim did not go unnoticed by Vladimir. '_Her aim was off. Either she's not trained in firearms or she doesn't have a clear enough vision to have a precise aim. I would guess it's the latter, especially with her current illness._' He took a moment to analyze her location, the distance and the trajectory. Once he had a clear shot, he took it and shot.

Cagalli's heart was beating uncontrollably and was having difficult time breathing. She can see he was now aiming his gun at her, '_is he here to kill me?_' Soon her question was answered once her gun flew out of her hand. She did not hesitate to grab the bottle that was behind her. As soon as it was lit, she threw it at the entrance and noticed Vladimir was coming closer.

'_Please let it work,_' she prayed.

Vladimir was running towards the entrance, but was suddenly stopped by the explosion caused by the burning bottle. With the force of the outburst, he was thrown back and hit the ground.

Cagalli, on the other hand, was thrown to the back wall of the cave and lost consciousness immediately. Her head had collided with the wall with great force.

A great wall of fire was the only thing that stood between them.

On the other side of the island, Kira and Athrun were just walking away from their Gundams when they heard the explosion.

"What was that?" Athrun asked.

"It sounded like an explosion," said Kira.

Both their eyes widened in fear, "Cagalli!" they shouted and took off running towards the cave.

Vladimir heard their bellow and realized he no longer had time to retrieve the Representative. '_The boss will not be happy, but I'm not sticking around to get caught by anybody._' He took off through the trees to reach the helicopter and fly out of there.

Both Kira and Athrun could not believe what they were seeing when they arrived at the cave. The entire entrance was engulfed in flames. There was no way in or out of there.

"Cagalli!" Kira yelled out for his sister.

"Can you see her Kira?!"

"No! But I can feel she's in there."

"We need to get to her, NOW!"

"I'll get Freedom to help put out the fire!" Kira yelled out as he started running back to the beach.

"Hurry, Kira! She doesn't have much time!"

Athrun was afraid that Cagalli would die from either being burned to death or she would suffocate to death. Either way, they needed to get to her immediately. '_I won't lose her!_'

Soon, Kira arrived on Freedom and extinguished the fire. Athrun ran in without a second thought as Kira jumped out of his Gundam.

When Kira ran in he did not know what to expect, but once he saw his sister in Athrun's arms, his blood went cold and he froze where he stood. His sister was cradled in his best friend's arms. Athrun was rocking Cagalli back and forth, calling out to her.

All Kira could hear was, "Cagalli, please wake up," and "you can't leave me."

He silently approached them. Athrun's uniform was bloodied; he had tears running down his face and continued to call out to Cagalli.

"Athrun?" Kira quietly called out. He was worried. When he did not receive a response, he tried to reach out to his sister, but Athrun just pulled away. "I have to see her, Athrun. I need to see how bad her injuries are." Kira reached out to gently squeeze Athrun's shoulder, he needed to somehow reassure his friend it would be alright, "please lay her down and let me check on her."

Athrun finally complied with his friend's wishes and laid Cagalli's limp body on the ground. Kira did not like what he saw. Cagalli's chest was not rising up and down, her face was pale and had blood around her mouth. He lowered his head to feel her breath and touched her pulse.

Everything confirmed one single thing.

Cagalli Yula Athha had stopped breathing.

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Please do not kill the writer. I know that was an evil cliffhanger, but what can I say. That's the way the cookie crumbles. But I do hope you enjoyed your belated surprise. I'm already working on the next chapter.

I will continue to try and update at least once a week.

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Please take a moment and review.


	9. Chapter 9

Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I do not own GS or GSD.

Thank you for your reviews. You guys are awesome! Here is the next installment of my story.

* * *

Chapter 9:

'_Oh God,_' were Kira's thoughts when he could not feel a pulse on her and could only look down on her ashen face with disbelief. "No!" he cried out as he intensely clutched onto to her shirt.

Athrun was knocked out of his despair. He was then driven only by instinct as he grabbed hold of Kira's shoulders and forced him to look at him. They needed to save Cagalli, but first thing's first.

"Kira! Grab the medical kit. Otherwise, we will lose her," was the only thing he could say to help his friend focus back onto the problem at hand. Cagalli. They couldn't give up on her. He would not dare to do so.

Kira looked up at Athrun and nodded. He got up and ran out of the cave as fast as he could. '_There's no time to waste._'

Clearly, Athrun's thoughts were on the same path as Kira's. He ripped opened Cagalli's shirt to begin CPR on her. His mind buzzed through his memories to recollect his training, on what steps to take. He tilted her head and lifted her chin.

Breathe, breathe…pump, pump, pump, pump, pump….. Breathe, breathe…pump, pump, pump, pump, pump….

He continued with the same process, over and over again. "Cagalli don't you dare give up and leave!" he yelled at her, hoping for some kind of reaction from her.

Finally, Kira arrived back with the medical kit. "The Archangel is nearby and waiting for our arrival. Everything is set." He alerted Athrun as he took out the necessary instruments from the medical kit.

Athrun could only nod, indicating he heard him and took notice that Kira was pulling out the automated external defibrillator (AED). He stopped to allow Kira place the machine on Cagalli.

'_Please let this work,_' was their only thought as the AED activated.

Cagalli's body was jolted and Athrun checked for her pulse afterwards. Nothing. He continued to breathe into her while the AED prepared for the next shock. He suddenly stopped as the AED activated again. Both Kira and Athrun could only stare as they saw her body jolt once more. And again, Athrun checked for her pulse, his eyes closed as he concentrated. '_There!_' he felt the faint thrumming of her pulse. However, they both noticed her breathing was strenuous.

Kira pulled out the oxygen mask to put over her nose and mouth, but as he pulled his hands away from the back of her head, he noticed the stickiness on his hands. '_Blood._' He felt panic for a moment and his expressions did not go unnoticed by Athrun.

"Kira, give me the bandages. We need to put as much pressure on her head wound to stall the bleeding."

"Right"

Between the two of them, they were able to place a small towel on the laceration and wrapped the bandages on her head as best they could.

"That should do for now Athrun," Kira said as he picked up the medical kit, "let's get her to the Archangel."

Athrun agreed and picked Cagalli's limp body from the ground and followed Kira out the cave. Kira jumped into the Freedom and called out Athrun.

"I'll take you back to the Justice."

Kira then lowered one of the hands down to Athrun and allowed him to climb on while clutching Cagalli's body. Moments later Kira had flown Athrun back to where they had left Justice and once again found himself in the cockpit with Cagalli in his arms.

On the way to the Archangel, Athrun could only look down onto Cagalli. She looked so pale, so fragile, and she felt very light. He could tell that she had lost a lot of weight and could only feel guilt within his heart.

'_I'm so sorry, Cagalli. I hope you could forgive me someday._'

Shortly after their arrival onto the Archangel, Cagalli was carried off to the medical ward on the ship. Everything was ready for her arrival. The machines were set up, the instruments laid next to the bed and the staff had their instructions. None were sure of what to expect, but they certainly weren't prepared for the reality.

The injury to Cagalli's head was still bleeding, her breathing was labored, her pulse was weak, not to mention her body was completely taxed. Dr. Kyo was placed in charge of overseeing to Cagalli's medical needs. The moment he saw her, he feared she would not survive through another day. He prayed he was wrong and was determined to help the young girl survive through this ordeal.

Meanwhile, Kira and Athrun were with Captain Ramius, Waltfeld and La Flaga on the bridge. They were all anxiously awaiting to hear from Dr. Kyo. Cagalli had been wheeled into the room a couple of hours ago.

"How much longer will it take for them to let us know how she's doing?" Kira exclaimed. He was a nervous wreck. All he could do is pace back and forth.

"Calm down Kira. The doctor will come and give us a status as soon as he can. To him, Cagalli's health is his first and only priority at this moment." Murrue said, trying to calm the young man who she has grown to care for as a son.

Kira sighed and finally sat in one of the empty seats, "I know. I just…" he softly said as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He did not finish his thoughts nor did he need to, everyone in the room knew perfectly well what his unspoken words were. Everyone felt the same. Everyone agreed. Frustration, fear, powerless, and hope, to name a few, were some of the feelings that were strongly coursing through each and every one of them.

They all remained silent for a moment until Mwu decided to voice his concern. Something had been bothering him and had not been mentioned to either of the young coordinators since their arrival. "Kira? Did you see anybody else on the island while you were there?"

This got their attention. Both Kira's and Athrun's heads shot up at the unexpected question.

Kira shook his head, "no, no one. Why do you ask?" he asked cautiously.

"Who else did you expect to be on the island?" Athrun was also cautious. He agreed with Kira, he knew La Flaga would not ask unless he had a reason to do so.

La Flaga looked over to Waltfeld and Ramius, silently asking if he should continue only to receive a nod from each of them. 'Of course_, let me be the one to stir trouble,_' his thoughts filled with sarcasm. He silently sighed, "Might as well face the firing squad," he muttered to himself. With resignation he started to explain, "When we were approaching, we saw a helicopter fly away from the island. We were unable to identify it, but it certainly was not one of ours."

"We did try to make contact with the pilot, but all of our calls went unanswered," said Murrue.

"There was no one there when we arrived at the cave," Athrun stated.

"Yeah, but then again we were more concerned in getting to Cagalli after we heard the explosion and we certainly weren't looking to find anyone else," Kira rationalized.

"I have a feeling, whoever that pilot was he or she had something to do with that explosion." They all looked at Waltfeld, waiting for him to explain his theory. "It is too coincidental that as soon as we see the chopper take off, we see smoke coming from within the island."

Everyone sat there, each with their own thoughts on the matter.

Kira turned to Murrue, "we must contact Kisaka to send a team to investigate the area. Neither one of us," he gestured towards Athrun and himself, "stopped to think about investigating how the fire was started, but I'm certain it had to be deliberate. From what I saw, the fire covered the entire entrance and it did not go any further from there."

Captain Ramius was about to respond when the door opened and the doctor walked in.

Athrun was the first one to speak up, "How is she?"

Dr. Kyo looked at everyone for a moment before responding, "We have stabilized her for the moment, but we need to get her back to Orb immediately. We stopped the bleeding and stitched up the laceration, however, without the appropriate equipment, I cannot determine if there is any swelling to the brain, fractures and/or bleeding." He sighed, "I'm sorry to say that she has fallen into a coma and her oxygen levels are dangerously low. Her lungs are full of liquid and could collapse at any moment if we do not apply the proper medical measures."

"May we see her?" Kira asked.

"I honestly do not believe it would be a good idea, but due to the extraordinary circumstances, I will allow a few minutes. But you will need to follow my directives in maintaining the preventive measures I have set."

Waltfeld looked at the doctor, "preventive measures?"

"The risk for her to receive any type of infection is very high and we need to avoid this at all cost."

"We understand Dr. Kyo. Thank you for the update and all the hard work to help the Representative," Captain Ramius looks over to Kira and Athrun, "why don't you two be the first ones to see her, we'll go afterwards. In the meantime, we will get a hold of Kisaka."

Both coordinators nodded their heads in agreement and followed the doctor out of the bridge and set off to see Cagalli.

After the proper preparations, they were finally allowed to enter the room where Cagalli laid asleep. They couldn't bear to see her so weak and fragile. It was a complete turn around from her true nature. Her head was wrapped in bandages; she had an oxygen mask, and was hooked up to several machines.

Kira walked up to her and held her hand. "Hang in there Sis. Don't you dare give up! We are all here with you," he softly said and bent down to place a kiss on her forehead. He then turned to look at Athrun and nodded before walking out the room, leaving Athrun alone with Cagalli.

Athrun hesitated for a moment, but then started walking up to her. He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it, "I've missed you so much. Please Cagalli, don't leave me, I need you by my side. There is so much I want to tell you, no, I need to tell you. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he placed another kiss on her hand and rubbed it against his cheek, "come back to me my Cagalli."

All he could do was hope and prey that she could hear him and take all the strength she needed to survive from him. For the love of his life, he was willing to give up anything.

* * *

I know there wasn't much to this chapter, but I promise the next one will be better.

There's more to this story and many paths to choose from, but which ones will it take.

Thank you for continuing to read my story and please do take a moment and review.


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